Mixed Feelings
by shalara
Summary: Hermione's a mess because of Viktor and his letter, and Ron and his jealousy. Now she's a confused student about to enter her 5th year at Hogwarts. ~*** Chapter 19 is up! ***~
1. The letter that started it all

A/N: My first fic, and this without any beta-readers, so please don't flame me too much! But I'd appreciate any comments, feedback, critique, etc.

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Disclosure: None of this is mine. None. Absolutely none. (A/N: I think that says it all right?)

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~***~

Hermione watched Harry walk off with his uncle, aunt, and cousin. She sighed, she couldn't call them 'his family', even though she knew that they were only family Harry will ever have. 

"Stop it, Hermione", she thought to herself, "Ron, Professor Dumbledore, the Weasleys, Sirius, and I will be his family, since we care for him". 

She saw Ron and Ginny hug their parents, and watched Fred and George proudly present a toilet seat to their mum. Needless to say, Mrs. Weasley was not impressed and began to scold them, while Mr. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny hid grins behind their hands.

She looked around, and finally found her parents waiting in the back, and it was time to head home, away from witches and wizards, away from Hogwarts, and away from You-Know-Who. She felt a pang of regret at the first two, but was grateful for the last one.

~***~

She plopped down her luggage in her room, and flung herself on her bed looking up at the ceiling. Crookshanks leaped up on the bed alongside her. 

"What a horrible year Crookshanks," Hermione half-stated to her cat and half to the ceiling, "first Ron and Harry get in this huge fight, Ron falls for that blonde _veela_, Victor has a crush on me (I think), and worst of all, You-Know-Who's back at the expense of Harry's pain and blood and Cedric's life." Crookshanks regarded her with deadpan eyes, and lazily laid himself to clean her paws.

Hermione looked at Crookshanks amusedly, and then sighed, "if only I could shrug it off as calmly as you". And with that thought, slowly fell asleep.

~***~

Hermione's summer was pretty slow. Her parents seemed to feel that all their patients needed more serious dental work this summer, rather than their average six-month check-up. Hermione knew they enjoyed the challenge and work, but was silently disappointed that they wouldn't be able to take a family trip like they usually did. 

She woke up one morning in the middle of July only to find Crookshanks very alert with his belly to the ground. She looked around to see what it's matter of object was, when she noticed an owl on the top of her cabinet with an envelope in its talon. The tawny owl seemed to regard her cat with a look of slight condescension but dutifully held out her leg so the letter could be removed. Hermione then carried it to the window where it took flight, and Crookshanks gave her a look of disappointment and stalked out of the room with his tail high up.

Hermione sat at her desk, pushed the Standard Book of Spells Grade Four to the side, which she was reviewing the night before, and looked closely at the envelope.

She didn't recognise the long, narrow handwriting, and it was written in a deep red ink.

She opened up the envelope and found, 

__

Dear Hermione,

Your name is easier to spell than it is to say, but I have been practising since we left. I was wondering if you will be taking me up on my offer to visit me in Bulgaria. I understand if you or your parents feel it would not be safe with all that is happening, but I hope you will be able to.

Please write back with your reply

Viktor Krum.

~***~

A/N: Please, please…pretty please…read & review!


	2. To be 14

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Disclaimer: All of this is owned by the wonderfully talented author by the name of J.K. Rowling. 

~***~

Hermione read at the letter one more time and finally placed it on her desk with a sigh.

"Oh dear", she said silently to herself. "What am I going to do? I don't like Viktor _that_ way. He's a nice guy and a great Seeker. He's probably even better considering I don't know all that much about Seeker moves. Any girl would jump at the chance to take up this invitation, heck, practically every girl in Hogwarts was jumping on the poor guy these past ten months! So what's wrong with me?" 

She finally laid her head and arms on her desktop and just stared at nothing for awhile.

"I wish Harry and Ron were here – actually no I don't! Well, at least not Ron. He'd probably go on and on about how Victor's practically a Death Eater since he goes to Durmstrang", she muttered to herself. "Harry would probably understand, but I don't even think he can handle this. Besides, he has enough trouble with the Dursleys."

~***~

She knew her parents were getting a little concerned with the way she was behaving, but she couldn't help it. If she were left idle for just a few seconds she would start to think about Viktor and what she was going to tell him. She didn't want to lie to him, but she didn't want to lead him on either. Maybe she wasn't giving him a chance. But at the same time, she knew that the spark wasn't there. Hermione wasn't sure what that 'spark' was, but she thought it would be an instant connection. That no matter what she could speak freely to that guy, have great discussions – even heated ones, but most importantly that they both felt that they _needed _each other. Viktor was pleasant enough, but there was never anything substantial to their conversations.

But does this person exist? Maybe Viktor could be this person. Maybe she needed to get to know him better. Maybe, maybe, maybe. And this is where her parents find her gazing at absolutely nothing.

~***~

"Hermione dear, please tell me what's the matter. Your father and I have been a little worried about you these past couple of days", her mother said.

"I'm fine mum," Hermione lied.

"Hermione…"

She kept her eyes on her book, "Mum, I've told you. Everything is okay". 

"Is this about your friends Ronald and Harry?"

No answer. Hermione kept her face away from her mother since she felt tears start to build up. She could hear her mother get up off the corner of her bed and start to leave.

"Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm…"

"Wait mum. Maybe I should talk to you." She turned and watched as her mother's expression as she watched the tears stream down her daughter's face.

Hermione wordlessly handed Viktor's letter, which was so worn out due to the fact that she kept fiddling with it this past while. Dr. Granger silently read the letter, and looked up. 

"Hermione, do you want to visit this boy in Bulgaria?"

This was the question of the day…or days.

" I don't know mum. That's the problem." She spilled everything, or almost everything, out. She needed a female to talk to, but this was her mother after all. 

"What do Harry and Ronald think about him?"

"Harry is fine with Viktor. Ron likes him as a Seeker – a sports player mum – but he and I have had really bad fights about me hanging out with him." Just saying that brought another fresh wave of tears to her eyes. Hermione blinked furiously to keep them at bay with no luck.

"Why was he so angry?" she asked shrewdly.

"Because, well, because he thought I would help Viktor win the Tri-wizard cup! I wouldn't do that to Harry! I couldn't believe it when I heard him say it!" Her voice was getting louder and louder the more she thought and ranted about Ron and his stupid comments. Eventually, she was no longer coherent and just kept muttering to herself.

"Are you sure that's the only reason Hermione?"

Hermione kept pacing around her room, "what do you mean?"

"Well, maybe he likes you"

Hermione stopped. "WHAT?! MUM! That's gross!" 

Mrs. Granger was not about to be swayed, "Well, think about it. Maybe he was just jealous because Viktor got to spend time with you and he was worried. In fact, how do you feel about Ron?"

"_MOTHER!_"

"I'm just saying that all the criteria you had for that 'spark' that's missing between you and Viktor, you have between you and Ron".

"I can't believe I'm hearing this…"

"You get along with each other…"

"The idea of Ron and I…"

"You complement each other very well…"

"…going out is laughable!…"

"he seems to be very impulsive and you are very cautious…" 

"He'd probably freak out if he heard this…"

"you need each other…"

"or he'd run out screaming…"

"and you definitely have the heated discussions part down cold."

"before he got control of himself to be _able_ to freak out!"

"HERMIONE," her mother said very loudly to get her attention. Hermione looked up in surprise. "Why are you so shocked by this suggestion? Don't you like him?"

Hermione's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she was able to muster a reply. "As a friend, yes. But, that's beside the point. He doesn't like me. He doesn't even think of me as a girl. He didn't even think of asking me to the Yule Ball." She said this rather quickly.

"What if he had asked you, would you have accepted?"

"Yes. No. Maybe. Oh mum, I don't know. What's the point of dealing with 'what if' situations? He didn't ask me, and that's all that matters, isn't it?" She plopped on her bed sobbing in her pillow.

Her mom placed a consoling hand on her daughter's back, and let her gaze fall on Viktor's letter and a picture of Ron. "_To be 14 again…Oh Hermione, this will get better if you are faithful to your true feelings"_ she thought to herself, but she knew her daughter would not want to hear it right now.

~***~

That's it for now folks. Thanks to Kari Ishikawa for giving me my first review! :)

Please r/r!


	3. A decision is made

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Disclaimer: None of this is mine. I wish it is, but it isn't.

A/N: First off, I'd like to thank my reviewers – all of you have been great, and I've taken your comments into consideration. Secondly, I have to apologise for this being posted up so late. I've had many midterms and papers due, and I just came down with a touch of flu, most likely since I've been lab work with a strain of _E. coli_ (a bacteria for those who don't know what I'm talking about) in my classes. I get my reading break in a couple of weeks, so I should be able to update soon.

~***~

Hermione look out her window one more time. The weather seemed to match her mood: it was grey, cloudy, and it was raining. No storm, but just that constant drizzle that made you want to sit in front of a fireplace in a cushy arm chair with a blanket, a cup of tea, and a good book. But she wasn't about to do that just yet - she was determined to reply to Viktor today. 

So far her letter consisted of:

__

Viktor,

That's it. 

She didn't know what to say. And how do you write something when you couldn't even say it? Hermione watched a chickadee struggle to fly outside. She smiled at the thought of flying, forgetting for a brief second that she _hated_ to fly, probably because it's the one thing she wasn't good at no matter how many books she read. 

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, and out of pure frustration, she thought, "What I need to do is just talk to him!" She stopped. Maybe that's it. She should go down to Bulgaria and talk to him. She really didn't want to hurt him, and maybe seeing him once more might confirm her feelings that he's just a friend. And if that's true, then it might be easier to tell him that she just wanted to be friends, and that they actually **would** be friends.

Her mind set, she put her pen to the paper and completed her letter.

__

Viktor,

Thanks for inviting me. I think it might be a good idea for me to visit you down in Bulgaria. My parents said that they're okay with me travelling as long as I'm careful. I'll let you know the exact day and time soon.

Hermione

~***~

"Well, that's it Crookshanks. We're going to Bulgaria very soon." Crookshanks didn't seem to be all that interested in Hermione's opinion. 

"I have to write to Harry and Ron and tell them I'm going. Ron is going to freak out". 

Hermione decided that since it was so close to Harry's birthday, she'd just enclose the letter and gift together. She had bought his gift quite a while ago. It consisted of two parts, both of which she found in Hogsmeade and decided they were perfect for him: a book entitled, "Invisibility Cloaks - All That Has and Can Be Done With Them" and a little statue of a stag that pawed on the ground anytime someone looked at it. She attached notes to both gifts.

She sat down and began to write the letter to Harry explaining where she was going. 

~***~

She watched the Granger's family owl, Athena, fly away carrying the gifts and letter to Harry. Her parents had decided to buy an owl so they could keep in touch with her while she was in school. She knew she slightly chickened out when she wrote the letter. She decided to write at the last minute as post-script asking Harry to tell Ron that she had gone when he visits him at the Burrow. Ron was going to be furious at her when she comes back, but there was not much she could do now. She made up her mind, and she was going to Bulgaria whether he liked it or not.

~***~

Feeling a little sick, which she wasn't sure was due to the airplane food or the anxiety of finally meeting Viktor, she shakily got off the plane and followed the pack of people like a little duckling on the way to luggage pick-up area. She looked around for her suitcase, which she thankfully put a blue ribbon on the handle so it would be easy for her to recognise, and headed off to so the waiting area.

It wasn't hard to pick him out in the crowd. He stood by to the left of the doors and the crowd shuffling his feet. He had a big grin on his face when she stepped out.

"Hermy-own-ninny!" he said when she reached him. She chuckled silently wondering if he would ever say her name properly. He looked as if he wanted to hug her but she had her hands full of suitcases and her backpack. He shrugged and grabbed a suitcase and brought her out to a cab. 

"Ve vill be taking the Muggle way to get to my parents place," he stated, before flagging down a cab. 

They loaded her luggage in the trunk of the car, and headed out of the airport. Hermione was gawking out of the window taking in all the historical sights as they drove by. She felt a hand on her arm, turned to Victor and heard him say, "Velcome to Bulgaria". She smiled back at him but wondered in her heart whether he would regret those words once the week was over, because now that she has seen him, she doesn't know what she'll say to him.

~***~

~***~

AN: Please R/R guys! I'd really appreciate it!


	4. In Bulgaria

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A/N: All right, if truth be told, I've never been to Bulgaria, or even Europe (will be in a couple of years though!), so please excuse the way my imagination pictures it to be. 

Either way, I'm sorry HermioneM, Ron won't be coming to Hermione's 'rescue' anytime soon. But he's coming into the story soon!

MusicalRose, I just started my reading break yesterday so I'll update at least twice this week. Thanks for your comments & support though!

~***~

Bulgaria was definitely different from London. Everyone seemed to be so much more laid-back. No one rushing around for appointments in power suits, and no tourists trying to make the Queen's guards smile or taking numerous pictures of Big Ben. As much as she didn't want to accept it, Hermione was beginning to relax and starting to enjoy Bulgaria. Viktor was being a perfect gentleman. His parents were delightful, and she found that he was an only child like herself. The more she talked to him and found out about him, the more she realised they were very alike. He was even the top student of his year at Durmstrang! 

This was beginning to be a problem.

She was going to be leaving tomorrow afternoon, and they decided not to do any tourist-like events today. She and Viktor were strolling around the town's park not really talking. Viktor knew almost immediately that this was not the day for idle chit-chat. He stole glances at her occasionally from the corner of his eye, but she wasn't really noticing. She needed some time to think.

The problem was that she was getting _comfortable_ with Viktor. That's not to say she wasn't comfortable with Ron, but there were always arguments interspersed with their laid-back friend relationship. She was comfortable with Viktor just as comfortable as she was with Harry. Actually, maybe even more. With Harry, there was always the factor that he'd side with Ron when they had their butting-head sessions, just as he had when she told Professor McGonnagal about his Firebolt, and even during the Yule Ball when she had that row with Ron. She wasn't angry with Harry, she accepted it with a grace that she didn't even know she had. With Viktor, he was solely hers and vice versa.

And she liked it.

~***~

The path that they were walking along went around a pond where there were fish swimming and little ducklings roaming around the surface. Mrs. Krum had given them bite-sized pieces of bread before they left that morning so that they could feed the ducks. 

With Viktor standing beside her at they edge of the pond, they idly threw the bread watching with smiles on their faces as the little ducklings waddled over to grab them. Hermione was keeping an eye out for any duck that was not able to get a piece so that they could get some food too.

When their food supply was empty, Viktor led her over to a park bench that had a picturesque view of the park, and they sat and people-watched. Well, Viktor did. Hermione simply closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sky soaking up the sunlight. 

"Hermy-own-ninny…"

"mmhmm" she replied with her eyes still closed. She was definitely in a lazy mood right now.

"I vas vondering, vell, if you regret coming here" 

Hermione opened up her eyes and turned her head to look at him. "Why would you ask something like that?"

He gave her a kind of sheepish look and said rather hesitantly, "you haff been very quiet today and so I thought –

She quickly shook her head to stop him. "I'm sorry Viktor," she started to explain, "I just needed to think and I guess I haven't been a very good guest today". 

He still looked a little unconvinced. 

"I've been having a great time the moment I landed. Everything's great, in fact better than I expected!" 

__

"That's not really a lie," she thought, _"I really did think that this trip would turn out bad"._

Viktor gave her one last look, "Are you sure?"

Hermione smiled at him, "Positive. I'm happy I accepted your invitation and I don't regret it one bit!"

Viktor smiled, although she could tell he was trying to stop himself from outright grinning. She couldn't help it, and _her_ smile started to turn into a grin, and they both just started to laugh.

When they finally calmed themselves down a bit, Viktor stood up and offered his hand to her. She accepted it and got up from the bench. He turned to face her, and said rather seriously, "I'm glad you came Herm-own-ninny"

She started to blush slightly when she looked up to his face, and replied with all the sincerity she could muster, "I'm glad I came too". 

And they left the park to grab some lunch still holding hands.

~***~

Hermione was sitting in the guestroom's bed with Crookshanks plopped on her. He was getting a bit heavy, if truth be told. "Maybe you should go on a diet Crookshanks…then again, it'd probably be hard trying to explain to you why I was starving you", she mused. Crookshanks didn't budge.

She finally had to push him off her lap, which he did not appreciate. She wasn't about to do anything about that though. She had to start to get ready. Viktor had arranged that night for them to go to an all-age club. She had almost forgotten that she was legal here. 

She decided to go all-out for tonight. She was in the mood to dress up. She even went into the wizard part of the town a couple of days ago, and bought another bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion from a witch in the witch's salon.

Since they were going to a muggle club, she had to dress muggle-style. Viktor didn't want to go to the Weird Sisters concert for two reasons: since they were still in school, they couldn't perform any magic even if they wanted to, and two, he didn't want to be recognised as Bulgaria's famous seeker. Hermione could understand that. She was a best friend of Harry's after all. 

She sat down in front of her dresser's mirror, and combed in the Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and grimaced. As nice as the results were, she hated the feel of the stuff in her hair. She decided to keep her hair down this time, and it fell just past her shoulders. It was always astonishing to her on how long her hair really was when it was curly and tangled. It took some time to curl the end of her hair in and she kept wondering how Lavender and Parvati managed to do this every morning. She would never have time to do this every day with school, especially as the O.W.Ls were coming this year. 

Finally, she gave up knowing it'd never be perfect, but she had to admit that it wasn't that bad. She put on a little lip-gloss – she abhorred heavy make-up – and stood up to change her clothes. 

She had no idea what girls her age wore to these clubs. Her own mother didn't care much about fashion (she is a dentist after all), and Mrs. Krum only knew witches' fashion. So, Hermione was left to her own devices. She eventually found a deep mauve wraparound top that the sales rep had gushed on and on about how good it looked on Hermione until she bought it just to keep her quiet. She wore it with a dark green chiffony skirt that came just above her knees and black open-toed sandals. 

She gave herself a look-over one final time in full-length mirror before declaring satisfactory. It helped when the mirror told her that she looked great too.

She looked at her watch, 10:00pm. They were supposed to leave in five minutes. She patted down her hair one more time, opened the door and hurried down the stairs. Mr. and Mrs. Krum had already left for a dinner party of their own, so only Viktor was waiting by the front door.

Viktor's eyes widened slightly at the sight of her. "Vow Herm-own-ninny! You look vonderful!" 

It was the same reaction when he saw her at the Yule Ball. 

She grinned at him and they headed out the door.

~***~

The club was amazing: the music, the lights, the people, all of it. Hermione was having a great time. Viktor was surprisingly a good dancer; it seemed he was better dancer and flier than he looked when he was firmly on the ground. 

They had just danced to the last five songs in a row before finding a table where they could sit, have a drink, and mostly just to take a breather. 

"I'm so glad you took me here Viktor. I wasn't sure if I would like it as I don't really like these events, but I'm having a lot of fun"

Viktor smiled and shouted something back at her, but with all the noise his words were drowned out. She shrugged and smiled apologetically at him.

The crowd was beginning to thin out a little more since it was getting late, and all of a sudden they heard the DJ announce "Last Call!"

Viktor pulled her out of her chair and they got back on the dance floor. It turned out to be a slow song that she didn't recognise, although she hadn't recognised the majority of the songs.

Her right clasped his left and she put her left hand on his shoulder. They danced quietly and just swayed to the music slowly moving in a circle. 

She pulled back a little near the end of the song and looked up at him. 

"Thanks so much for this Viktor. Not only for today, but for the entire week. I've had a wonderful time. I'll miss this country, your family, and especially you when I leave tomorrow".

He looked at her with a smile on his face, "Oh, you vill never know ven you'll next see me right?" 

He paused slightly and his smile faded slightly from his face, "I vill miss you also Hermy-own-ninny". He removed his hand from her waist and cupped her chin to raise it to his.

Just as the last notes of the song echoed throughout the club, he brought his face down to her and kissed her gently on the lips.

~***~

~***~

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A/N: Whew! That was a little longer than I expected! I was going to stop the chapter after the park scene, but decided not to in the end. So be happy, even if you aren't happy with the ending if this chapter!

MusicalRose, I hoped that quenched your appetite till the next chapter is uploaded!

There's no point in telling you to read the chapter if you're reading this, so please review, review, review!


	5. Her first kiss

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A/N: Wow, I really didn't expect this many reviews for my story. I mean, I'm not in the hundreds (did you know there was a story that had 1000 reviews?!), but I thought I'd only get 1. Maybe 2. So, thank you very much! I love reading the reviews almost as much as I enjoy playing this story out in my mind.

Disclaimer: same story. Nothing here is mine. Never was, never will be.

~***~

Just as the last notes of the song echoed throughout the club, he brought his face down to her and kissed her gently on the lips.

Hermione saw it coming. How could she not? What surprised her was her instinctive reaction to lift her face slightly to meet the kiss and slowly lower her eyelids. 

And it came. 

It was her first kiss ever. 

It was nice. 

It wasn't what she expected. 

But then she never really imagined kisses like Lavender and Parvati did. They were always practicing, on the back of their hands, the pillow, even their mirrors. Needless to say, the mirrors weren't too impressed, except Lavender's. But that's because her mirror was a male. Hermione was always using that time to study. 

It was getting very warm.

In the midst of nowhere, a little part of her mind suddenly woke up.

__

This isn't right. This isn't right.

Hermione's eyes flew open and all she saw was Viktor's ear. She pulled back suddenly and saw Viktor's eyes widen and narrow in confusion and hurt. 

"I…I'm sorry Viktor. I can't do this"

"Herm-own-ninny" 

She watched his forehead make little crinkles as he looked at her in astonishment, and then his expression started to close up.

"I'm sorry Hermy-own-ninny…"

Waves of guilt washed over her as he was saying this. She leaned over and put a hand on his forearm.

"No, don't be. Don't be sorry. There's nothing to be sorry for. The kiss was nice, but…"

Viktor glanced at her and looked away to what must have been an interesting sight by the blank wall since he refused to look away.

"I know. You are in love vith Harry Potter"

Whatever Hermione was expecting, that certainly wasn't it. She stood in her spot speechless for a second with her mouth wide open in an exquisite expression of being flabbergasted. And then she couldn't hold it any longer. Peals and peals of laughter came out until she had a stitch in her side.

Unfortunately, Viktor was paying too much attention at the wall that he didn't realise she was surprised by his statement. There was a silence, which he assumed she was confirming his statement. And then…laughter? He immediately stiffened up at the thought of her laughing at _him_ because he tried to compete with the _great_ Harry Potter.

Luckily, Hermione was a little more observant than he was, and she noticed his reaction. She wiped the few stray tears from her eyes.

"I'm not in love with Harry. Didn't he tell you that when you saw the maze the first time on the Quidditch field?"

He turned to her slowly. 

"Then vhy…?"

"Why didn't I kiss you back? I don't know Viktor. Maybe I'm just not ready for this." She paused, and said a little more quietly, "I'm sorry".

The look in his eyes softened just a bit. He nodded a little gruffly but at the same time in, was it, understanding? Hermione hoped so. Although, she didn't understand how it could be since she didn't really understand it herself. 

"Vhy don't ve go home? You haff a plane to catch tomorrow."

She nodded and helped him hail a taxi to his home.

~***~

She said goodnight to Viktor and hastily stepped in her room to be by herself. The cab ride was a little tense. Not really by him she knew, but because of her. She needed to think, and she needed to be alone to do that.

She closed the door with a sigh and leaned against it. Crookshanks was nowhere in sight.

__

Probably out for his nighttime prowl. Oh well, let him prowl. He'll be stuck in a box for a few hours when we're on the plane anyway.

She slowly moved to her chair and sank into it. She lowered her head into her arms that were lying on the desk in front of her. 

__

What just happened?

She stayed like that for a few minutes before raising her head and looked out the window. She silently watched the nightly ritual of the moonlight dancing with the shadows of trees.

It just didn't make any sense. This morning everything was wonderful. She was happier than she had been in a long time. And then the kiss came and she started to panic.

No, she corrected herself, it wasn't panic. Not really. It was just…wrong. Maybe not even that. Maybe a better description was that it wasn't _right_.

But what does that mean?

She yawned, stood up, and got dressed for bed. Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was, "Maybe it's a good thing I'm going back home tomorrow."

~***~

She forgot that night that she had to face Harry and Ron when she got back to London.

~***~

~***~

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A/N: Okay, that's it for now. I'll post soon. But I want reviews! Me greedy, but I don't care! :-)

HermioneM: Ron will be there in some shape or form in the next chapter! 


	6. Coming home

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A/N: Well, I hope you reviewers like this. I'm not too happy with this chapter, but ah well, take what you get right? ;-) lol! 

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling's the best! And of course, this is all hers.

~***~

Still trying to catch a last few moments of sleep, Hermione turned in her bed hoping to find a better position. Unfortunately, she just ended up turning on her side where her face was now in position to greet the morning sun. Even though her eyes were still closed, Hermione groaned and waved her hand blindly to block the sunlight streaming through the window. 

No such luck.

"mmmm, this is _not_ my day" she grumbled before placing her pillow strategically in front of her face. She squirmed around and sighed with contentment thinking sleep was awaiting her once again.

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP….BEEP…BEEP…

"Arrgh!" Again her hand swatted alongside the bed blindly, but since she hadn't fully woken up, she somewhat forgot the fact that the alarm clock was placed in a different location since she was still in Bulgaria.

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…

Disgruntled and knowing she was finally beaten by the morning, she swung her feet out of her bed, sat up, and looked disinterestedly at the carpet.

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…

"Alright, alright. I'm up! She walked to where the clock was, tapped it on its metal casing, looked it directly in its face and said, "Please stop Lydia. I'm up. Honest" 

The clock's face narrowed her eyes as if trying to determine whether her charge would go back to sleep if she stopped making her wake-up call. Evidently satisfied, Lydia closed her mouth and eyes.

Hermione remembered how startled she was the first morning she woke up to Lydia (the clock's name) and tried to find the sleep button frantically. Mrs. Krum had to come in and teach Hermione how to work a wizard's alarm clock. Lydia reminded Hermione of Cogsworth, the clock from the Disney movie "Beauty and the Beast". Except Lydia was female of course.

Hermione opened her mouth to yawn once more, but quickly shut it. If Lydia saw or heard her yawn or showed any signs of still being tired she would start "beeping" again.

She shuffled herself to the adjoining washroom and freshened herself up. She splashed some water on her face to help her wake up and then got ready to dress. Nothing fancy today, just jeans and a t-shirt. She was going to be spending most of the day on a plane after all. 

She put her hand on the doorknob and paused. She hadn't really thought of what she was going to say to Viktor yet. What if he told her parents that she rejected him and now they hate her?

There was nothing she could do. She had to face them all eventually, especially as they were taking her to the airport! Squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath, she headed down the stairs to the kitchen. 

Voices from that area told her that all three Krums were awake. She stood in the doorway until Mrs. Krum saw her.

"Good morning Herm-own-ninny!" None of the Krums could say her name properly – Hermione began to wonder if she would start introducing herself as Herm-own-ninny since that's all she heard this week!

"Good morning everyone." Well, she said that mostly to Mr. and Mrs. Krum as Viktor refused to look her in the eye.

Sitting herself down at the table and helping herself to some toast and marmalade, she thanked Mr. and Mrs. Krum for taking her to the airport. Smiling and telling her not to worry about it, they left to make some last minute details before loading up her luggage.

This meant she was alone with Viktor in the kitchen.

Well, maybe not for long. 

Viktor pushed his chair abruptly from the table and started to stand up to leave.

She looked up at him. "Viktor, please, stay," she pleaded with him.

"I haff many things to do" he replied brusquely.

"Viktor…"

He didn't move.

"Well, at least either sit down or stand up. You're crouched all over your chair and that's not very good for your back," she snapped.

His eyes widened as he realised this was true. He sat down and started to smile to himself, until he realised what he was doing, and once again made his face expressionless. There was silence for a few minutes while she berated herself for snapping at him.

He finally moved his head, looked her in the eye, sighed, and said, "I care for your Hermy-own-ninny"

She groaned inwardly. Not that she wasn't flattered, but she didn't return his feelings.

"I like you too Viktor, but only as a friend. I'm sorry. You're a great guy, but right now I can't get into a relationship with you. Please understand that. Maybe some day, but I can't commit to anything at this moment"

Viktor looked down at his hands, "I know. I knew it last night, but, well, I'm sorry I was mad at you this morning"

She smiled a little. "Apology accepted. Friends?"

He nodded once and smiled back, "Friends. Now let's get you to the airport"

~***~

Hermione leaned back on her seat and glanced out the window. They were getting ready to land the plane in London. 

She thought back to the goodbyes in the airport. Everything went smoothly. She had given hugs to the entire family and Viktor and her promised that they would keep in touch. She thought he might write her tonight, because he looked like he was up to something mischievous, but she didn't have time to figure it out as she had to board the plane.

The plane landed with a soft bump, and Hermione reached up to grab her carry-on bag and got ready to leave.

~***~

"Hermione!"

"Mum…Dad!" She ran to her parents and clung to them both. It was so good to be finally home.

~***~

They reached their house when Athena flew on her shoulder to welcome her home. Crookshanks had stalked off as soon as they opened his cage on the driveway. He _definitely_ did not appreciate being locked up during the flight.

Her mother glanced at Athena and frowned a little. "That reminds me dear, Harry and Ron has sent you numerous letters. I guess they didn't know where you were in Bulgaria, so they kept sending them here"

"Thanks mum! I'll read them right now" and with that, she ran up to her room and saw 7 letters. One from Harry, six from Ron.

She opened Harry's letter first. 

__

Hermione,

Thanks so much for the gifts! They're perfect. I especially like the statue because it reminds me so much of my father as Prongs. 

You will have to tell me how you liked Bulgaria. Did Viktor teach you how to do the Wronski Feint? I still haven't mastered that move. 

I will tell Ron, but I don't know how he will take it. You'll have to buy me a butterbeer or something during our first Hogsmeade weekend to even things out!

I'm going to Ron's home tomorrow. The Dursleys aren't happy, but they're still too sacred of Snuffles to lock me up. Come to the Burrow when you arrive home (Mrs. Weasley said it's okay). We can all buy our books at Diagon Alley together then.

Harry.

She smiled, until she realised she had to read Ron's letters. She took the first one and slowly opened it up.

__

Hermione,

__

Why would you go to Vicky's place? I thought you weren't going to see him! And how come you had Harry tell me? Why didn't you tell me?

Ron

Well, that wasn't too bad. She opened the one that was he wrote the next day from the dates he wrote.

__

When are you coming home? Owl me the moment you come home! You should have given us your address. What if he hands you over to You-Know-Who??? No one would be able to save you!

Ron

She sighed put that down and found the rest of his letters similar to the first two. The last one, which Pig must have sent over this morning, consisted of:

__

YOU'RE NOT HOME YET??? WHAT ARE YOU **DOING** THERE?!

R.W.

She lowered her hands and sat at the edge of her bed still holding the letter, if you could really call nine words a letter. Maybe she should re-think the idea about spending two weeks in the Burrow with Ron.

~***~

~***~

****

A/N: Just some replies to your awesome reviewers:

E.M.C: I'm surprised not many other fanfic writers haven't looked at the Krum factor too actually! Oh well…more for me ;-)

Rally-as-Twiddle's: I hope Chapter 5 answered your question!! And I hope this was soon enough for you too. (side note: my reviewers are demanding…you should buy me a butterbeer if you want the next chapter soon, although, I'll settle for lots and lots of reviews! lol!)

Moon: I'm definitely not making it easy for poor Hermione. I think things will get worse for her soon though!

Christly: I was wondering if I should go more specific on her kiss too ;-) However, I figured it was her first kiss, and it was an innocent one. Besides, this is Hermione! Could you really imagine her going all out on her first kiss? Unless it was to spite Ron of course *hint, hint* 

MusicalRose: Of course you got a mention! Now you get another one!! I hope you like the next chapter. It should come out in 1-2 days? Hope so!

HermioneM: Well you got a taste of Ron in this chapter, but the next chapter will have lots and lots and lots of Ron! ;-)

Now please review! I write and upload faster if you review!!! ;-)


	7. Arriving at the Burrow

****

A/N: Sorry, this took me longer than I said. I couldn't get into fanfiction the past couple of days.

Anyway, all is well, especially as CANADA'S WOMEN HOCKEY WON GOLD YESTERDAY!!! YEA!!! For you Americans, I'm sorry, but you won silver right? And hey, you beat Russia 3-2 to go to the gold medal round for men's hockey, which means you'll be playing us for the gold!

(Can you tell I'm an avid hockey fan? Hey, I'm a Canadian! What more can I say?! ;-))

Disclosure: Another chapter that really belongs to Ms. Rowling…

~***~

Hermione pushed her peas listlessly around her plate and watched them roll and bump into each other. 

Mr. and Mrs. Granger glanced worriedly at each other. Hermione had told them all about her trip on the way from the airport, well, everything except for the kiss and all that related to it. Her dad would fly to Bulgaria and do who-knows-what to Viktor if he knew that his "baby girl" was kissing some guy. She knew her sudden change of mood ever since she came down from her room was probably confusing her parents.

Ron's reaction to her going to Bulgaria was to be expected. Although she couldn't believe he dared to still call Viktor "Vicky". After all they had gone through during the school year. She thought he had gotten that out of is system. Obviously not. 

She speared a piece of carrot and bit at it savagely. They had carrots almost every night. Something about it being good for her eyes her parents always told her. But as she swallowed it, she had to admit to herself that she never _did_ tell Ron about her trip. If she had broken it to him gently and told him her reasons, maybe he would have understood. 

The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that she was partly to blame for Ron's over-reaction. With that thought, she decided she would go to the Burrow before heading to Hogwarts. Her mind made up, she finally finished off her dinner and headed upstairs to pack.

~***~

Waking up to a normal muggle alarm clock, she got up and finished packing all her books in her trunk. She needed to buy new Hogwarts' robes at Diagon Alley, so she didn't have to pack too many clothes.

Lugging her trunk behind her, she met her parents at the breakfast table. Her mum looked up from reading a journal article about a new technique on removing wisdom teeth.

"Oh, good Hermione, you're awake. I was about to go upstairs and give this letter that just came. It seems to be from Hogwarts."

"Thanks mum. It's probably the book list for this year."

Taking the letter, she opened it up and sure enough, there were the names of all the books she would have to read. Most of them were already familiar as she had borrowed Percy's fifth year books during her second year to read before going to sleep. After all, this was the year she was going to be taking the O.W.Ls.

She noticed that there was something else in the envelope. Pulling it out, she read,

__

Dear Ms. Granger,

We at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry are pleased to announce that you have been selected to be one of the 5th year Gryffindor prefects in this up-coming year. You will find enclosed your prefect badge, which we require you to wear whenever you are in your Hogwarts uniform, starting on the day you arrive at Platform ¾. 

You will have your first prefect meeting on the Hogwarts Express in the prefect compartment where the Head Boy and Head Girl will inform you of your duties and responsibilities.

We know that you will do your best behaving in the utmost behaviour and being a stellar role model of what Hogwarts' students should strive for. We look forward to seeing you on the first day of school.

Professor Minerva McGonagall 

"Oh my goodness!!"

She reached into the envelope and sure enough, there was a gleaming silver prefect badge. She picked it up, and pinned it above her heart (even though she was still wearing muggle clothes) grinning at her parents. 

"This is going to be the _best_ year at Hogwarts for me!" she declared to her pleased parents.

~***~

Since she was taking a cab to the outskirts of the village where Ron lived (her parents were still uncomfortable with all the wizards especially as they were muggles, and the taxi cab would not be allowed in the village), she regretfully took off the badge and stuck it in her trunk.

She said her farewells to her parents and, waving goodbye, got in the cab. She was surprised at how well they were taking this, especially as she just came back from Bulgaria. She assumed that her parents felt bad that she was cooped up in the house for the month of July.

Looking out her window after making small talk with the taxi driver, she started to ponder what exactly would she be saying to Ron Weasley when she sees him in an hour.

~***~

The cab started to slow down and pulled up to the corner that Hermione had indicated. The driver pulled her luggage out of the trunk and Hermione counted out how much she owed him. Her parents had gone to the bank and withdrawn money for her to pay for the cab ride, her textbooks, clothes, and supplies, and enough for Christmas gifts, birthday presents, and little odds-and-ends. She would need to stop at Gringotts when she goes to Diagon Alley to exchange it for wizard money.

She watched the cab drive off, sat down on her trunk, and waited for the Weasleys to pick her up.

Within a few minutes she saw a flash of red in the sky. Squinting in the sunlight, she managed to pick out the details. The Weasley children (Fred, George, and Ron) were flying on their brooms. She saw a flash of light, which she realised, was a reflection of the sun from a pair of glasses. Harry was flying in front of them all. It made sense of course, he had the Firebolt while the twins had Cleansweep 5, and, yes, there was Ron struggling with his Shooting Star. She only knew this after all the conversations Ron and Harry have had about brooms and Quidditch.

Harry landed first a few feet from her.

"Harry!"

Hermione ran the few remaining steps and hugged him hard, grinning she knew, like a fool.

"Hey Hermione!…umm, Hermione could you let go? I think I hear my ribs cracking"

"Ha, Ha", but she let go of him, after she poked him in his 'cracking' ribs.

Before she knew it, she was swept of her feet – literally. The twins had landed without her noticing, and picked her up and swung her around.

"FRED AND GEORGE! You let me down this instant!" She was trying her best to be angry, but even as she scolded them laughter kept bubbling through.

"Gosh Hermione, it's sure nice to see you again," Fred grinned at her.

"Yeah Hermione, Ron's been an awful git while you were gone visiting Krum. Hey, what's Krum like? Did he show you any Quidditch moves? Is he funny? Do you think he'd like some of our new products from Weasley Wizards Wheezes?" George was asking her without stopping to take any breaths in between.

Hermione had stopped paying attention to George in the middle of his greeting as she saw Ron land his broom and walk towards her. His face was turning a nasty shade of purple. 

She wasn't sure if he was mad at being last because of his broom or because of her. 

She turned to face him squarely, rose to her full height, and looked him straight in the eye.

Half of her brain was going, "Don't back down", while the other half kept repeating, "Uh oh."

~***~

~***~

****

A/N: More replies to you awesome, amazing, dedicated reviewers ;-)

Rally-as-Twiddle's: LOL! You're on! I've always wondered, what do you think Butterbeer really is? I mean, is it sweetened beer? Or is it a non-alcoholic drink, like gingerale? I mean, they were *13 * when they first started to drink the stuff, and they weren't even ID'd!

HermioneM: Nah, none of my reviewers could EVER be annoying. I was going to continue the chapter, but I thought the next one could be completely devoted to Ron. And yes, you are one of my most faithful reviewers, so thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Madison: Thanks so much for your comments! Although, I must admit it's sometimes hard to keep them IN character when I don't know all the English-English terms (vs. the Canadian-English terms…lol!) Using food as an example, what are mint humbugs, cornish pasties, black pudding, spotted dick (!), and treacle tarts??? They eat weird food! Just kidding. Please don't flame me for saying that! ;-) We have weird food too in Canada, such as whale tails and beaver tails (and no, they're not really whale or beaver tails!) Anyway, enough about food.

MusicalRose: Did you finish your English project? Those are nasty aren't they? I still have to finish a lab report. Sigh. You'd think I'd be finished considering I spent 3 hours in the library yesterday. Well, almost 3 hours. I stopped when the hockey game started, lol! Well, don't work too hard, it's the weekend after all! Yea!!


	8. The confrontation

****

A/N: I'm at 39 reviews! I was sooo tempted to do my own review to get it at forty, but I thought that might be too pathetic. Do you think we could get it to fifty after this chapter? Oh, please say yes!! I'll even take all critiques and (some) flames to get to that number ;-) 

Disclaimer: Ms. Joanne Rowling gets all the pleasure of saying that all this is hers (and most deservedly too), while all I get is to reviews. So please review! Let me get _something_ out of this!

~***~

As he came closer she could tell he was muttering to himself under his breath. She still didn't know what he was muttering about though.

He finally stopped a few paces away from her.

"Hermione." She winced inside. Her name was said in such a clipped tone that she had never heard from him.

"Hello Ron," trying to make her reply as calm as possible. She had decided then and there that she'd try to explain everything to him before he went into a tirade. "Ron, I…"

"How was your week with _Vicky?_" he spat out.

"His name is not Vicky, Ron! I would have thought that you stopped that by now. Or haven't you grown up at all these past couple of months?" she snapped back at him. 

Her words stung. She could see it in his eyes. Biting her lower lip, she immediately began to regret her words. It was one thing to insult him, but it was another matter to express a disappointment in him. Before she could say another word though, his eyes narrowed at her.

"Well, maybe you grew up a little more than I did while you were traipsing around Bulgaria with Vicky. What exactly were you _doing_ with your boyfriend all this that is making you feel so overwhelmingly grown up?"

She gasped and felt her face drain of colour. "RON WEASLEY! How _dare _you! How dare you insinuate such a thing?! I've told you before Viktor is NOT my boyfriend. And even if he was, none of what we do is _any_ of your business." She took one step closer to him, eyes flashing. "You are not my boyfriend. You have no hold on me. None whatsoever."

And with that, she turned towards the Burrow and ran sobbing leaving the three boys stare at Ron, while he stared at the place in which Hermione stood just seconds before.

~***~

Hermione found her way to the den and found Ginny working on her Potions essay.

"Hermione!" Ginny stood up to give her a hug, but stopped when she noticed her friend's eyes all puffy and red. "What happened?"

She just shook her head and looked down at the ground. She felt Ginny place an arm around her shoulders and lead her to the sofa. 

"Let me guess, it was git of a brother, Ron" 

Hermione looked up and slowly nodded. "I don't know what to do Gin. There's nothing between Viktor and me. We're just friends, and yet your brother keeps pestering me about him."

Ginny sighed. "You know how Ron is. I can try to talk to him if you'd like."

"No. It's not fair for you to get involved. We'll resolve this. We always do, right?"

Ginny, probably thinking back to all the infamous Hermione-Ron fights that have occurred throughout the years, laughed and agreed. 

Standing up, they strode over to the kitchen to say hi to Mrs. Weasley and make a cup of tea.

~***~

"Hermione dear! How pleasant it is to see you again!"

Hermione smiled at Mrs. Weasley. She was still as matronly as ever, but she felt very safe and secure bundled up in Mrs. Weasley's arms. 

"Hi Mrs. Weasley. It's nice to see you too." She glanced around the kitchen. "Are Mr. Weasley and Percy here too? I haven't seen either of them yet."

Mrs. Weasley let go of Hermione and took a look at their clock. Sighing, she replied, "No, both of them are at work still. Arthur has been working longer shifts now that Dumbledore and Cornelius have had their difference opinions about You-Know-Who's return. Arthur now has to do two jobs and he rarely comes home at a decent time anymore." At this, she picked up her wand from the table and pointed it at some eggs. She might have been a little too energetic because the eggs were cracking in the bowl at a furious rate, and some of the yolk could be seen flying up out of the mixing bowl and onto the counter and floor. Exasperated, she pointed her wand again and said a cleaning spell.

Hermione and Ginny ducked as a wash cloth, a mop, and a bucket came flying over there heads to where the incriminating eggs lay.

Ginny turned to Hermione and whispered, "Why don't we have the tea after dinner?"

Hermione took one glance over her shoulder at the now overly excited Mrs. Weasley and whole-heartedly agreed.

~***~

Both Ron and her rather pointedly ignored each other throughout dinner, and then he fled the dinner table claiming he had to do homework. Fred and George grinned at each other, knowing that the reason was just an excuse, and they chased after him to stir up some trouble. 

Mrs. Weasley took one look at her departing twins, and said rather despairingly, "Ginny…"

Ginny nodded once and ran after her brothers to keep them out of trouble.

Hermione grinned at Harry. They were obviously viewing a recurrence of a routine situation that occurred in the Weasley household. They entered the den after Mrs. Weasley shooed them out of the kitchen and sat in two comfy armchairs in front of the fireplace.

Neither of them said anything for a while and just stared at the flames. They finally looked each other in the eye.

Hermione decided she'd go first. "Harry, I just wanted to let you know that there is _nothing_ between Viktor and I except friendship."

Harry nodded, "I know. _He _doesn't though," jerking his head towards Ron's room upstairs.

"But what can I do about that? He won't listen to me. He won't even give me a chance!" her voice sounding a little indignant.

"You know how Ron is like Hermione."

Hermione snorted, "Funny, that's almost exactly what Ginny told me."

He smirked at her, but quickly wiped that expression off his face and continued. "However, you do realise that Viktor likes you more than a friend though, don't you?"

She cursed herself as a blush started to creep up her face. "Yeah, I know," and she quickly looked up at him, "but I told him that we could only be friends."

"Well, maybe you should tell Ron that."

"I TRIED! But he wouldn't let me finish, and then he assumed I was having _sex_ with Viktor when I was in Bulgaria!"

Harry shrugged, obviously lost for words, and they sat once again in silence looking at the flames.

~***~

After four days, Hermione finally got fed up between the silence and hostile looks between her and Ron. It didn't help that Fred and George were trying their very best to cheer Ron up with their numerous surprise attacks, which only caused Ron to be in an even bitterer mood on the whole.

When she woke up on the fifth morning at the Burrow, she decided that she was going to settle this right now. She put on her dressing robe and left Ginny's room, which she and Ginny shared, and then headed over to Ron's room. Knocking once, she opened the door with a determined look on her face, and stepped in without waiting for a reply.

"Ron Weasley, we are going to talk right now!"

Ron's head poked out of the covers, "HERMIONE! You can't come in here! Mum will _kill _me if she finds a girl in my room in the morning!" 

"Too bad." She looked at Harry who was reaching over to grab his glasses. "Harry do you mind waiting for us in the kitchen? Ginny's up too"

"No problem Hermione," and with a smile of relief on his face he scurried out the room.

"Hermione…" Ron had moved into a half-sitting position on his bed and had his bed sheets up to his shoulders.

Hermione shook her head at him before he could continue. "No, Ron. You are going to listen to me once and for all. I do _not _like Viktor. I mean, I do, but as a friend. And only as a friend. Viktor is _not_ a deatheater. And he is most certainly _not_ going to give me over to You-Know-Who. Do you understand?" The last sentence was almost in a shout as her voice kept getting louder and louder.

Ron's eyes were wide awake now, and nodded his head dumbly. He opened his mouth, but since all that came out was a squeak, he quickly shut it.

Satisfied, she continued. "Good, now why don't I leave so you can change out of your Chudley Cannon pyjamas, and I'll meet you downstairs in the kitchen with Harry and Ginny." She swept out of his room leaving him blushing to the roots of his hair that she had seen his childhood pyjamas that he was trying to hide.

~***~

~***~

****

A/N: So what'd you guys think? I had a lot of different scenes playing in my mind, with Mrs. Weasley being mad at Hermione (for, again, she was dating Viktor), etc. So tell me what you all think of this.

Now onto replying to your reviews:

Weasley-Gurl: I'm glad you liked the twins and the letters. I had lots of fun with the letters ;-) The hockey game ROCKED – _both_ of them! Our country went nuts. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing red, white, maple leaves, flags, and people were high-fiving everyone everywhere. We will definitely see you again in 2006! ;-)

Jiki Arosakka: Well, there was no cliff-hanger here, so I hope you're happy! Hope you liked this chapter too!

The Wandering Blue Andalite: I liked the name "Athena" for the Granger's owl too. Sorry chapter 4 was a little too obvious for you, this is my first fiction, so I'm still muddling through this all! Thanks so much for reviewing! Especially reviewing each chapter! That was awesome of you to do that1

Madison: Lol! That would have been funny if it was from a tan, especially as red-heads don't tan well. But you wouldn't want to see a Ron in the later chapters with his skin peeling would you? shudders

Rally-as-Twiddle's: Hmm, that's an interesting thought about butterbeer. It makes sense though. Butterscotch + beer = butterbeer!

HermioneM: Sorry the last one was short, I tried to make this one slightly longer.

MusicalRose: Let me guess…Cedric? Bill? Unless it's Penelope Clearwater! LOL! I couldn't keep Ron angry for 2 chapters, so I stopped it in this one. I agree with your list of the things that should be wiped off. Let me add one more though: rudeness and/or rude people. That's my pet peeve! Anyway, thanks for the review!

****

I'll try to write soon, but it may take me a while. I wanted to upload this today as I have a midterm tomorrow and my big, long, yucky lab report is due on Friday. So, I'm hoping to see lots and lots of reviews. Let's aim for the big five-zero (50) this time! That's only 11 more folks! 

See you soon!

shalara


	9. News, shopping, and gifts

****

A/N: Just a warning, this chapter will seem really unimportant, but it will set up a few things for the later chapters. I hope!

Disclaimer: Ms. Rowling has the greatest honour and rights to be able to say that this is all hers. How I wish I could eventually say something like that. she ponders the possibilities…

A/N: Enjoy!

~***~

BOOM!!

"FRED AND GEORGE!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed up the stairs, "You better not be doing some more of your Weasley Wizards Wheezes inventions in your room! If I catch you…and if you do badly on your N.E.W.Ts, so help me!"

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry looked at each other and clamped their mouths to keep from laughing out loud. It was late in the day and the four of them were just relaxing in the living room.

Ron and Harry turned to continue with their conversation of the Chudley Cannons, while Hermione looked down to continue reading her book and Ginny was glancing through the Daily Prophet. Mrs. Weasley popped her head in the doorway and looked at the four of them.

"We will be going to Diagon Alley early in the morning to pick up any school supplies you need. Make sure you go to bed early tonight because we'll have a long day tomorrow."

Apparently satisfied with the nods and affirmations from the four, she headed up the stairs with a determined look on her face to tell the twins.

"Poor Fred and George," Harry said laughingly, "I hope they clean up before your Mum gets to their room."

Ron, cocking his head up towards the stairs, "Well, I can't hear Mum yelling or see any of their creations being thrown out of their room, so I think they managed."

Ginny and Hermione looked at each other and shook their heads knowingly and went back to reading their own material.

"Hey, there's an article here about Hogwarts!" Ginny exclaimed. Seeing their curiosity pique, she continued to give a summary of the article

"Hogwarts is accepting new students! They have an interview with Dumbledore and he says that because of the troubled times – "

"Huh! They probably had to cut out that You-Know-Who had returned because Fudge still doesn't want anyone to know!" interrupted Ron.

"- they will accept students from other schools who wish to learn in a 'safer' environment," continued Ginny.

Hermione looked at Harry and Ron, and shrugged. 

"It would be interesting to learn about them and how they were taught in their school. We rarely got a chance to talk to them last year," Hermione mused.

"As long as they don't try out for Gryffindor's Quidditch team!" Ron retorted.

Ginny was shocked, "Ron! Everyone can try out, now that we can finally fill in the Keeper position." 

"Well, as long as they don't cheat," muttered Ron.

Scanning the paper Ginny said, "Oh, well who knows if this is true or not. The article here is written by that Skeeter woman."

Hermione rolled her eyes with that news and resumed studying the potion that would give people nightmares about the thing they scared the most, drowning out the noise of Wronksi Feints.

~***~

  
"Girls, it's time to get up. Breakfast is ready, so hurry downstairs. We'll be leaving in an hour," Mrs. Weasley said to the groaning girls at 7 in the morning.

Both Ginny and Hermione opened one eye to peer groggily at her.

"mmm, okay Mrs. Weasley," Hermione managed to say.

Both sighed with relief when the door closed and they could hear her move to Ron and Harry's room.

Ginny turned to Hermione with an impish grin on her face, "Do you think we could get away with another 15 minutes of sleep?"

Laughing in reply, "Not a chance Gin. Don't you remember what your mum did to get us up before heading to the World Quidditch Cup when we tried falling asleep again?" Hermione asked

Both shuddered at the memory. Mrs. Weasley pulled the blankets off both their beds, which they were still in, opened up the curtains. To add injury to the matter, she conjured up a pitcher of water and threatened to pour it on them if they didn't get dressed.

"Yeah, you're right. Besides, maybe we can get the hot water before the boys this time!" 

And with they both managed to rush into the washrooms before anyone else. 

~***~

Hermione and Ginny were sitting at the kitchen table happily eating the french toast and fruit that Mrs. Weasley prepared when Ron and Harry came in and sat in their chairs.

Well, Harry sat in his chair, Ron just flopped into it.

"Why Ron, _whatever_ is the matter?" Hermione asked innocently.

"Don't start me with Hermione." He looked at Ginny, "And you too Ginny. Did you two have to take the entire supply of hot water in the whole house?!"

Mrs. Weasley came by to their table, "Now Ron. Don't blame the girls. I warned you to go to bed early last night, so it's entirely your fault for not being able to get up early. But here, have some breakfast and maybe that will warm you up." She placed a stack of french toast in front of him and he went at it ravenously as if he hadn't eaten in a week.

Ginny and Hermione watched him stuff his food I amazement. They didn't even know it was possible to eat that much that fast.

Ron looked up after awhile, "What?" causing little bit of french toast and syrup to spew across the table.

"Eeeww! Ron!" both girls managed.

Ron tried to say sorry, but the look of disgust on their faces was too much and he started to laugh. It didn't last too long; he began to cough (and spat out more food) because he started to choke on his food. Harry had to leap up and pound Ron on his back a few times before everything was back in control.

Hermione turned up her nose, "Serves you right Ron. You know better than to talk with your mouth full."

Ron, in return, made a face at her, and went back to his food with relish.

Mrs. Weasley came bustling by, wiping her hands on her apron. "Children, hurry up! We'll be leaving in 5 minutes, and I want to see you all by the fireplace otherwise you will be left behind and you can use your old books for all I care." 

George leaned over to Harry and Hermione, "She says that every year without it ever happening."

"I heard that George Weasley. And you can count on it that if you aren't ready in 5 minutes, you _will _be left behind mister!" Mrs. Weasley yelled.

~***~

Hermione's feet landed heavily and she leaned forward, arms flying in a windmill motion to keep her balance.

"Gotcha!" Ron and Harry leaned forward to steady her and helped her out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. 

"Let's get you out of here before Ginny comes through," suggested Harry.

Hermione glanced around the place. There was Tom serving drinks to his customers, some gone a little too far in her opinion. There was even one black-haired man _sleeping _with his hand clasped around his glass, and his head on the table! She shook her head and glanced at her watch. It wasn't even 9 am! She was trying to determine whether or not he started drinking in the morning or if he was still sleeping from the drinks he had the night before, when finally Mrs. Weasley was floo'd in. 

Mrs. Weasley dusted herself off briskly, "We should go to Gringott's first and then we can split up there. Let's meet back here at 12 o'clock."

~***~

Hermione walked in Diagon Alley with Harry on her right and Ron on her left. Even though this was her fifth time coming here, she still was slightly amazed by the sights that greeted her. She wanted to bring Cookshanks with her today, but decided he'd be in too much of a frenzy and she might lose him in the crowds. Besides, he was probably having fun chasing the garden gnomes in the Burrow's gardens.

She turned to her two best friends, "Let's go to Flourish and Blotts first and grab our books."

The two boys groaned. "Gosh Hermione, there are so many things here to look at. Why start with books of all things?" said an exasperated Ron.

She shot him an annoyed look, "Because they're the most important things. How else are we going to study for our O.W.L.s?"

"They're also the heaviest things. Why not buy them last. You know, 'save the best for last', kind of thing," reasoned Ron.

Harry chuckled, "Are you agreeing with Hermione that your _textbooks_ are the most important things you're going to buy today!"

Ron's face started to slowly flush, "Well, you know what I mean…" He glanced at Hermione's growing irritated expression, "Oh, all right. Let's get our bloody textbooks," he grumbled.

Hermione shot him a triumphant look and led the way. It turned out that they didn't have to stay very long, the manager had organised a section all for Hogwarts students, and the books were classified by year as well. Consequently, they ran into quite a number of friends in their year all buying books, such as the Patil twins. Parvati talked to Ron and Hermione, while Padma continued looking for her books (she is in Ravenclaw after all). Ron was more than happy to not have to talk to Padma since the Yule Ball last year, and she most likely felt the same way.

Due to mainly Harry's and Ron's insistence, they stopped at Quality Quidditch Supplies to look at every new invention and creation in detail and have extended discussions about them all. Hermione was relieved to see Dean and Seamus there and hoped she could talk to them about anything but Quidditch. However, after a few common pleasantries, they left her and joined Ron and Harry about the true value of a special case of Quidditch balls.

Rolling her eyes, she announced to her best friends that she was hungry. If she knew anything about her friends, it was that they were always ready to discuss Quidditch and food. Since they were going to be eating lunch at the Burrow, they stopped at Florean Fortescue's for some ice cream and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to meet up with the rest of the Weasleys and go home.

~***~

They were packing up all their things, as they would be leaving for Hogwarts the next day. Hermione, being the most efficient of all three, was done long before Ron and Harry were even close. Mrs. Weasley seemed to be almost in a fit at the state her children's trunks were at, and Hermione, wanting to get away, had joined the boys in their room.

"Really Ron, if you actually fold your clothes instead of stuffing them in the trunk, you'd save a lot of space, and they wouldn't be so wrinkled when you have to unpack," Hermione said trying to be helpful.

Ron looked up at her in the middle of him muttering to himself, "It's _fine_ Hermione. It'll fit. It always does."

"Yes but, it's not the best way of doing it you know. I could help you," Hermione replied getting ready to move towards Ron's books and clothes. Before he could stop her, Fred and George came in.

"Hey guys. Ready for tomorrow yet?" Fred asked.

"Nope, but are you guys?" asked Ron incredulously. The twins were always the last one to be ready. They were always trying to stuff dung bombs in any space they could find.

George laughed, "Nah, but, we realised we hadn't given you this yet." 

Hermione noticed Fred had his arms behind his back, and also noticed that Ron put _his_ arms behind his back and quickly shook his head.

"No way George. I'm not accepting anything from you guys. What's it going to do? Blow up in my face? Cause it to sing "Mary had a little broom" all day?" Ron said emphatically.

"Hey, those are some good ideas!" Fred, but seeing Ron's expression continued, "Stop worrying Ronniekins. Here just take it." Fred handed him a brown paper wrapped parcel.

"No joke involved. Honest." George added. He then turned to Fred, "I can't believe I just said that out loud!" 

Ron slowly opened it up with all of them looking on. He pulled it out and his face broke out in a grin. 

"Hey thanks guys!" His face formed a dreamy expression and ran to his trunk and pulled out his old maroon dress robes and promptly rolled it into a ball and threw it across the room to a corner. And picked up his gift again almost reverently. Fred and George had given him a nice set of deep royal blue robes.

"Angelina and Alicia thought it would look good with your eye colour or something like that," explained George.

Hermione smiled. As much as she didn't care about looks, hers or her friends, she had to admit that Ron's old maroon dress robes looked horrid on him.

~***~

~***~

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A/N: A very long chapter. Be happy. If not, well, you can review and tell me all about it ;-) I know these characters haven't done anything momentous here, but it'll come soon. Promise.

You know the routine:

Omega: Thanks for your review. I hope you're happy with this one too!

Rally-as-Twiddle's: I figured, she's a Gryffindor girl. She's brave. She can put a stop to Ron's whining if anyone can, right?

HermioneM: He will get jealous very soon. Very soon. I find him a lot more fun to write when he is jealous, although, I don't think I could ever date him when he gets in these moods!! ;-)

Weasley-Gurl: Couldn't you just imagine Ron doing that though? I've seen 'protective' friends and the things they come up with…shakes her head - half in disgust, half in pure laughter

Kat097: 3 minutes? Sorry you had to wait 2 days! Last week was bad for school, so sorry I couldn't upload this before. And, I caught a cold during it too! Still have it actually sniffles

MusicalRose: You like PERCY?! Ewww! Lol! What are you going to do if he goes and follows Voldey? You never know. He could, he was devoted to Crouch (and Fudge?) after all. I couldn't help but add the PJs bit. I just visioned him in too small – too old bright orange PJs that he'd be so embarrassed about, but still loved.

Madison: Yeah, Mrs. Weasley caused me great consternation ha, me sound so adult-like with these big words and all. Lol! I just hated that scene where Hermione got a chicken egg sized package of fudge while the boys got dragon eggs. I couldn't bear to put her through that again!

The Wandering Blue Andalite: Well, even though you don't ask for it, I'll say it again, thanks for reviewing! I think every author it still sounds funny when I call myself that!! appreciates it. If people don't review, we have no clue as to how we're doing, right? 

Akane Tendo: Wow, you just caught this. As I was typing these comments to everyone, I noticed that yours popped up in the middle somewhere. I got an 'A' for my story?? Ms Jones, take that! (she was my highschool english teacher – never liked her. Probably because I was such a science student!) Anyway, thanks for your comments!

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A/N: Well, I didn't get my 50 reviews :( But, I did get 48! Hmm, what do you think is a realistic number for next time? 58 maybe? Let's try 58. That's 10 more. 60 sounds so much nicer (in a round number way), but I won't be greedy. (You won't hear me say that when it comes to chocolate though!)

By the way, I've been debating something for awhile now. Do you think Ron and/or Harry should become prefects? I have a pretty clear idea now, but I want your opinion before I set it in stone (or fanfiction in this case…lame, I know! ;-)) Let me know!


	10. Umm, surprise?

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A/N: I don't really have anything to say at the moment, so I'll write something at the end of this chapter. Enjoy!

Disclosure: I don't want to get sued, so I hereby relinquish all rights of this story to Ms. Rowling.

~***~

Hermione ran around the room she and Ginny shared in bit of a panic attack. They were to leave in a half hour, and she was trying to grab all the last-minute items: her toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, floss, etc. Every time she grabbed something and moved, someone bumped into her and got in her way.

It didn't help to hear Mrs. Weasley yelling from the kitchen downstairs either about what she would do to them if they were late. Ron and Harry had told Hermione how unimpressed Mrs. Weasley was in their second year when they had to keep coming to the Burrow because people kept forgetting their things, and how she wasn't about to let that happen this time.

"Hey Hermione," Ron panted as he brushed past her on the hallway.

"Morning Ron," she replied back a little breathlessly, arms loaded with her things. She rushed to her open trunk and jammed everything in there. She made sure she put her uniform and badge on the top, as she would be changing on the Hogwarts Express. Once that was done, she closed the lid with smug satisfaction. "_All, done."_

She watched Ginny pace around the room trying to remember what she had already packed in her trunk, what she had forgotten, and what she could still fit in her trunk. Watching her gave Hermione a bit of a headache, and she decided to go downstairs and get out of her friend's way.

Dragging her trunk behind her, she went to the kitchen for a bite to eat. 

"Good morning dear. Have you finished packing?" Mrs. Weasley asked her. Hermione nodded as she gulped down some pumpkin juice. 

She shot some more questions in rapid succession. "Did you bring your trunk down? Is it locked yet? Are you sure you packed everything you need?"

Hermione quickly swallowed her spoonful of porridge. "Yes, it's at the front of the stairs. No, it's not locked yet as I can't do any spells until I get on the train, and yes, I do believe everything is packed."

"Good. Now, are the rest of the children ready yet?"

"Umm, I don't think so."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes flashed and she stormed to the foot of the stairs to yell at her children, "Don't make me come up there!"

Hermione then heard Mrs. Weasley say, "Bloccaro!" and knew her trunk was now locked, unless she locked Fred and George in their room, but she doubted that would happen.

A few mouthfuls of porridge later, she heard some "oomphs" and 'thuds' and knew the rest of her schoolmates were coming down the stairs too with their trunks.

They managed to scarf down some food while Hermione pried Crookshanks away from the garden gnomes, before being rushed out the door by Mrs. Weasley and into an awaiting taxicab. 

Ron leaned over to Hermione and Harry, "Poor dad, he would have loved to pay this driver muggle money and ask how he drove this muggle car!"

~***~

Once they had reach King's Cross Station, they took a run at the wall between platform 9 and platform 10. Fred and George helped Ginny bring their trunk into a compartment with her friends, while Hermione, Harry, and Ron said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley.

She looked sternly at each of them, "Now no more funny stuff, all right you three? I don't want to be getting any owls from Professor Dumbledore." She turned to Harry, and Hermione watched as her expression softened, "Do be careful Harry. If anything happens to you, tell Professor Dumbledore or your godfather right away." Hermione started with surprise, but quickly remembered that Mrs. Weasley was in the hospital wing when Padfoot transfigured into Sirius. Harry nodded, and Mrs. Weasley gave all three of them big hugs. 

As they got on the train, they heard her shout out, "And remember to study hard for your O.W.L.s!"

Ron turned to Hermione and smirked, "Like you could forget!" Hermione just glared at him, but before she could make a snappy reply, she saw a flash of silver go by her. 

"OH! I almost forgot!" She hadn't realised she said that out loud.

"Forgot what?" Harry turned to her with puzzled green eyes.

"Did you forget something at home? Don't worry, Mum can owl it over when we get to Hogwarts," Ron said confidently.

Hermione felt a slight blush creep up, "No, I didn't forget anything at the Burrow. I just forgot that I can't sit with you during the train ride."

"Why not?" Ron's forehead started to crease up.

"Ummm, well, I have a meeting to go to," she replied.

"A meeting! You haven't even started school yet!" Ron looked at her suspiciously, "You aren't going to start that whole spew stuff again, are you?"

"It's S.P.E.W Ron, not _spew!_ And no, it's just that…well, I'm a prefect and I have to go to our meeting." She turned to her trunk, "Alohomora." She reached in her now unlocked trunk, pulled on her robes over her clothes, and pinned on her prefect's badge.

Ron's expression was incredulous, "I can't believe you didn't tell us Hermione!"

"I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking about prefects when I came to see you, then I forgot, and when we got our books, I just started studying. I didn't realise that you didn't know until now, when I saw a prefect walk by." She knew she was being slightly defensive, but it was the truth!

He turned to Harry, "Can you believe this!"

Harry fidgeted with his glasses, and patted his hair down nervously, "Actually…"

"You _knew_?!!"

"No! I didn't know that Hermione was a prefect! And she didn't know that…well, that I'm the other Gryffindor 5th Year prefect," as he guiltily fished out _his_ prefect badge from his pocket.

Hermione's mouthed gaped open, "Harry! I didn't know you were a prefect too!"

He grinned, "Well, I didn't know _you_ were a prefect either!"

Ron glowered at them. He didn't find any of this even remotely amusing. "I can't believe you two! And you call yourselves my best friends! First you don't tell me about Vicky, Bulgaria, and now this!" He turned his attention to Harry and spat out, "And you, Harry! Were you just trying to reap all the glory once again? Too bad you have to share it with Hermione!" By this time he was yelling, and people were staring at them, as they still weren't inside a compartment. "Well, I hope you're happy. I'm going to sit with _real_ friends who aren't traitors like you two!" And he stormed off to another compartment.

Hermione and Harry looked at the now empty space before them before looking at each other. Harry, shock written all over his face, spoke first, "What just happened?" Hermione couldn't reply for once, and was only able to shake her head wordlessly at Ron's disappearing figure.

~***~

Fred, George, and Ginny found them standing in the hallway where they had their confrontation.

"Hey you two. Where's Ron?" Ginny asked not noticing anything wrong at the scene in front of her eyes.

Hermione and Harry just stared at her.

Fred shook them out of their jumble of thoughts by shouting, "You're a PREFECT Hermione!" He had noticed her badge pinned on her robe and shook his finger in front of his face, "I hope you aren't going to turn into another perfect-Percy!"

Hermione weakly smiled back, when George noticed Harry's badge. "You too Harry? Oh wow, you poor guy! I would _hate_ to be in your position man." He winked at him, "Don't worry, we won't cause you _too_ much trouble, I don't think."

"Thanks George," he said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

Ginny looked at them both and quickly put two-and-two together, "Does Ron know?" with a sinking voice.

Hermione glanced at Harry, before looking back at Ginny. "We just told him Gin. He's not too happy right now. I think he went to find you guys, or Dean, Seamus, and Neville." She looked at all three of them, "Maybe you can find him and see if he's okay," she paused and continued apologetically, "Harry and I have a meeting we have to go to, but we'll try to come out as early as we can."

They then turned and went down separate corridors. The Weasleys to find their brother, and Hermione and Harry to attend their first prefects meeting. Before entering the compartment for the prefects, Hermione still hadn't figured out what she would say to Ron to smooth this all better. In fact, she wasn't sure she _wanted_ to if he kept acting like such a prat. _After all, it's not like **I**_ _told Professor Dumbledore not to choose Ron. I didn't even know Harry was a prefect until now. Why can't Ron just realise that and move on? God, my life can't get worse._

She opened the door, and realised she was dead wrong.

~***~

A/N: Yes, I made it so Ron's jealous again. It'll probably be worse in a couple of chapters too! Sigh… ****

Guys suck, you know that? I had the worst experience with one of them today. A few weeks ago I turned him down (nicely) when he asked me out because I simply wasn't interested in him that way (only thought of him as an acquaintance/friend). Today when I went to collect my midterm paper, he was there laughing. When I asked him why he was laughing so much (and at me), he said, "you'll find out soon". It turned out that he had looked at my paper and my grade and found out he did better than me. Then he said very sarcastically, "I thought you were smart!" Of all the nerve!! 

I was _furious, _mostly because I could have done better on my midterm (but I had the flu and having a fever and a headache in the middle of a midterm is not a good thing) and because he looked at my mark. And I kicked a** in my other papers (beat him in both papers by a good 20%). What a moron. What an extremely bitter, egotistical, no-good, rotten moron who can't take rejection whatsoever. I didn't even stand him up or anything, just said, "I have plans" when he asked if I wanted to do dinner that night and left it at that. Is that really mean?? Hmmmph.

Anyway, this is why I added, "Hermione still hadn't figured out what she would say to Ron to smooth this all better. In fact, she wasn't sure she _wanted_ to if he kept acting like such a prat" **in the end of the chapter. Yes, I'm just a little bitter, but oh well, I'll get over it.**

Now onto one of my favourite parts, reviewing my reviews! ;-)

mmm.remus: sorry! Blame good-for-nothing boy for not hooking them up just yet! ;-)

Weasley-Gurl: The french toast was definitely not good, but I could totally see a 14 year old guy doing that, couldn't you?

Rally-as-Twiddle's: 2-3 days isn't bad for uploading a chapter is it?

The Wandering Blue Andalite: There's a huge debate in the Harry Potter realm as to what colour Ron's eyes are. I'm saying blue for this reason: it'd be funny if it was green because that's what Harry's are, and Hermione's are brown, so I figured Ron's could be blue. I don't think any book actually states what colour his eyes are though, and royal blue is one of my favourite colours too!

I'm sorry Ron is not a prefect. I was about to put him as one, but it seemed weird to have 3 5th year Gryffindor prefects, when there are only those three, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Parvati, and Lavender. If there are more, then I don't know about them. Besides, couldn't you see Ron getting shafted once more? 

HermioneM: THANK YOU! I imagined Ron to be a lot cuter than how he was in the movie. Don't get me wrong, Rupert Grint was amazing in the movie (one of the best actors there), but he didn't look like I imagined Ron to be. Again, I don't imagine him to be super-cute, (girls would be falling at his feet, and that doesn't really match his character), but just cuter.

Bluetreeleaves: I'm glad you're enjoying it too. I tried making Hermione stay true to her character, and Gryffindor's traits, so it's nice to hear I'm (somewhat) succeeding! Let me know when you get your fanfic up, and I'll be sure to review! PS: I was laughing when I imagined Hermione as a slut – can't do it. It just doesn't work, does it?

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A/N: I hope you all review this please. It'd make me so much happier and forget good-for-nothing boy for a while (at least until I figure out how to get revenge…heheheh ;-))

PS: 'Bloccaro' is Latin for 'to lock', just for those who were wondering!


	11. A meeting and an attack

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A/N: Four days…that's not _too_ bad for a new upload is it? ducks from tomatoes and lettuce being thrown in her direction from angry reviewers lol! Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy this – it's my longest chapter yet! Just for you! 

Next chapter they go to Hogwarts, and I have a few twists there I hope you like!

Disclaimer: I have no money, what makes you think I expect to get money from this? Silly people! shakes her head in bewilderment

~***~

"Well, well, if it isn't Mudblood and Potty-boy," came a drawled voice from inside the room.

"Malfoy, what are _you_ doing here?" Harry spat out. Hermione couldn't help but stare, her mouth slightly open, at blonde-haired Draco Malfoy with a sick feeling in her stomach.

Draco sneered at him, "Not too bright are you Potter? I'm in the prefects' compartment, why do you _think_ I'm here?" He turned and looked at Hermione with disdain, "You might want to close your trap, Granger." He laughed snidely, "Oh right, you never do close your mouth do you?" Mimicking Hermione, he raised his hand in the air and in a falsetto voice, "Oh Professor, I know the answer. Professor!!" The other Slytherin prefects started to laugh out loud, while the Gryffindor prefects looked murderously on. 

Hermione placed a restraining hand on Harry's arm as he clenched his fist and started to move towards Malfoy. 

"That little ferret isn't worth it Harry," she said loudly. The Gryffindor prefects were now the ones to start to laugh. 

Draco narrowed his eyes, and opened his mouth to reply, when a hand slapped the table.

"That's enough!"

They all turned to look in surprise at the two people standing at the far end of the compartment they hadn't noticed before.

"Sit down all of you," the girl looked at them. No one moved. The guy sighed, "Now people!"

Harry and Hermione shrugged at each other and sat beside their fellow Gryffindor prefects.

Hermione looked closely at the two in front of her, and realised quickly that these must be the new Head Boy and Head Girl. From their robes, the girl seemed to be from Ravenclaw and the boy, with a sinking heart, from Slytherin. "_Great, all the support Malfoy needs._" She thought to herself.

The girl started to speak, "First of all, the spectacle we all witnessed will not be tolerated again. You were chosen as prefects to be models for our schoolmates, and are expected to not act so childishly." She gave a pointed look to Draco, Hermione, and Harry. 

"Second of all," the Head Boy continued, "do _not_ expect any favours from us just because you are prefects. If anything, your behaviour will be more scrutinised _because_ you are prefects." Hermione started to flush and she knew Malfoy was smirking at her and Harry. The Head Boy seemed to realise this, as he then said, "This goes for you too, Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Just because we are the Head Girl and Head Boy does not mean we will go easy on you. We are Head Boy and Head Girl of ALL Hogwarts' students, not just those from our houses." He looked at all the prefects, "Do you understand?'

They all nodded and muttered, "yes". The only thing that was slightly comforting to Hermione was the sullen look on Malfoy's face. It was obvious that he had thought that he would get away with any action as he was a prefect and would have his Head Boy protecting him. He looked as if the rug under his feet was swept away from him and Hermione had to keep from laughing out loud. Instead, she just smirked back at him, while he sourly looked at her.

"Good, now that that's done, let's start by introducing ourselves," the Head Girl stated, "I'm this year's Head Girl, as I'm sure most of you have figured out. My name is Armaya Mehta, you can call me Maya for short, and I'm in my seventh year in Ravenclaw.

"And I'm Kalen Duggan, a seventh year in Slytherin, and the Head Boy," Kalen said.

"Why don't we go around the room and you can say your name, house, and year you are in," suggested Maya.

Dutifully, everyone said his or her name. Hermione looked around for the 5th year prefects; there was Hannah Abbot and Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff, Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst from Ravenclaw, and Malfoy and Blaise Zambini from Slytherin. She smiled inside, "_at least Pansy isn't a prefect_," she thought.

Hermione looked up at Maya and Kalen when everyone finished introducing themselves. 

"Professor Dumbledore wanted Kalen and I to inform you today of the duties and responsibilities that prefects must regard," Maya reported. "This meeting shouldn't take too long as we'll have another meeting in the first week of school."

"As prefects we will meet every week to discuss any events that we should be aware of, and to give feedback on how to handle situations," Kalen said as he handed out a package to everyone. "The sheets in front of you will explain all the necessary duties and actions."

Maya interrupted him, "We trust you will read this package before the first meeting, which will take place this Friday as they will be useful in the future. Kalen and I just wanted to make sure that you are comfortable as prefects. You are expected to guide and help students, especially the first years."

"Occasionally, you will be required to discipline your schoolmates. However, in most cases you will only need to take points of their house," Kalen gave them a stern glance. "Taking off excessive points or taking them off for no valid reason will not go by unnoticed. That package lists all 'strayed' behaviour that students have committed in the past and the points that were taken off for each. We expect you to follow them with the same action. During our weekly meetings we will collect everyone's report that says who they gave punishment to, why, and how much."

"For any behaviour that appears to be out of your league, we ask you to report them to the student-in-question's head of house for them to take over. Again this procedure is listed in your package," Maya continued. She gave them all a little smile, "Beyond that, we ask you to enjoy yourselves. It's a great honour to be a prefect, and we welcome you into our little circle."

Kalen and Maya glanced at each other. 

"Well, I think that's all that really needs to be said for now. Unless there are any questions…?" Kalen asked.

No one said anything.

"Okay then, I ask the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors to come to me, and the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs can go to Kalen and receive the password to their respective common room. Your first duty as prefects is to escort your housemates to the common room, especially the first years, and to provide them with the password," Maya closed.

Hermione and Harry stood up with the rest of the Gryffindor prefects and each received a slip of paper with a word on it, "butterbeer." They all grinned at each other; they _liked_ this password! Around the room, "_Incendio_!" could be heard and the pieces of paper went up in flames before curling into grey ashes.

~***~

Harry and Hermione stepped out of the compartment and headed back. 

"That wasn't too bad, was it? I thought…actually, I didn't know what to expect!" Harry told her.

"Hmmm…oh yeah, Maya and Kalen seem really nice," Hermione said being distracted from rifling through the package they had received.

Harry started to laugh, "Oh come on Hermione, we have the whole week to read this package."

She looked at him, ready to dispute that, but shook her head and laughed alongside him instead. "Okay Harry, I _guess_ I could put this away for now." She continued on, pursing her lips, "I'm really surprised with Kalen's behaviour though."

"Really? Why? I thought he seemed rather nice, if somewhat strict and serious," Harry replied.

"That's my point Harry. He's a Slytherin and he was decent! He showed no favouritism to the Slytherins or yelled at any Gryffindors," Hermione explained. 

"Maybe that's why Dumbledore chose him as Head Boy," Harry reasoned. "They can't show favouritism right? Just like Kalen and Maya said." His face brightened up, "Hey let's tell Ron what the password is. He's going to think it's awesome!"

Hermione stared at him.

"What?" Harry asked. "Oh…" He sighed, "We'll have to talk to him soon before he blows this up to more than it is."

"You're right," Hermione agreed. "It's just a matter of getting him to listen to us though."

The walked along a corridor in silence for a while, before a thought occurred to Hermione.

"Harry, why didn't you tell us that you became a prefect?" she asked, taking a sidelong glance at one of her best friends.

"I wasn't sure what to tell you two. I mean, Ron was really angry with me last year when he thought I put my name in the Goblet of Fire. He thought I was just trying to gather attention. I didn't know what he would think if I became prefect and he didn't," he said in a rather hopeless voice.

"All right, but why didn't you tell me?" she asked arching an eyebrow in his direction. He laughed weakly in return.

"I knew you wanted to become a prefect ever since first year, and how you want to become Head Girl too eventually. I figured when you didn't say anything about it when we met at the Burrow that you hadn't been selected and I felt really bad. I mean, I expected you to be jumping up and down and pinning your badge as soon as you found out," he explained.

Hermione blushed slightly; that was _exactly_ what she did when she received the letter.

"When you didn't say anything, and I couldn't see the badge on you, I assumed the worst. I didn't know how to tell you I was a prefect without hurting you, so I kept putting it off." He finally looked at her in the eye, "Sorry Hermione."

She smiled in return, "Don't be. After all, I didn't tell you either, or Ron." She stopped abruptly and turned to face him, causing him to bump into her. "Speaking of Ron, how about we go and knock some sense into him?"

Harry grinned back at her, "And how would we go about doing that?"

"I have a plan, but we need to speak to Fred and George first. Let's go!" And the two of them strode quickly towards Fred and George's compartment.

~***~

Hermione, Harry, Fred, George, and Lee were crouching outside the compartment Ron was in.

Fred and George had told them he had been sulking in that compartment since he came on the train and wouldn't talk to any one. When Hermione and Harry explained what they were going to do, Fred and George quickly agreed to help. Lee decided to come with them and help. Or that was what he said at least, Hermione thought it was because he wanted to join in the fun. She didn't say anything though, as she needed their help.

"Ready?" she whispered to the four boys with her. They all nodded grinning at her. 

She took a deep breath, straightened up, and started pounding on the compartment door.

"Ron Weasley, open this door!" 

Dead silence.

She continued to pound on the door with her fists. "Ron, you better get up and open this door this second, or you'll be sorry!" she hollered.

Nothing. Well, nothing except for Fred, George, and Lee holding their hands against their mouths to keep from laughing.

"RON WEASLEY! You KNOW I can open this door. Whether I unlock it or rip the door off the hinges with a spell. So you might as well open it yourself!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She could see out of the corner of her eye that students were peering out of their compartments wondering what was going on, but she paid no heed to them.

She finally heard him muttering and getting up, and soon the door opened up a crack and they could hear him say spitefully, "I don't really want to talk to you Hermione. Go and talk to your friend Harry."

"Since he's standing right here, maybe we can ALL talk." She nodded grimly to the boys, and they all pushed hard on the door before Ron could close it, sending Ron flying across the compartment to land sprawling on the floor.

They followed him in and Ron looked up at all them, eyes wide with astonishment as they surrounded him.

Lee closed the door behind them and leaned against it preventing him from escaping.

Harry in the centre with Hermione, had his wand out at Ron, "_Expelliarmus_!" And with his other hand, deftly caught Ron's wand that came flying to him.

Hermione stepped up, "_Mobilicorpus_!" And floated Ron so that he sat down on one of the seats.

"Now, I won't have to put a full body-bind on you to keep you from leaving, will I Ron?" Hermione asked him sweetly.

He shook his violently. 

"Good. Now we're going to talk. Actually, Harry and I are going to talk, and _you're_ going to listen."

He looked at her waiting, and then glanced at the grinning Fred and George with a puzzled look on his face.

Harry caught the glance, "Don't worry about them. They're just here for back-up." He took a deep breath. "Listen Ron, I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was a prefect. Things were rough this summer, and I didn't really care if I was a prefect when I received the letter."

Hermione and Ron both stared at him. They hadn't really talked about his summer and how he was. He never seemed to want to talk to them about it in the Burrow, and they didn't pressure him.

"I guess I felt guilty. After all, Cedric was a prefect, and look what happened to him. What _I_ did to him," Harry continued with a slight crack in his voice.

"Harry…," Hermione whispered.

"_You_ didn't do that, Harry," Ron interjected at the same time.

"Anyway," Harry moved on, "I didn't care that I was prefect, but I didn't know how to tell you that since I thought you might think it was me gaining attention over you. And I didn't tell Hermione because I wasn't sure if she was a prefect and I didn't want to hurt her either."

Ron didn't say anything, but he didn't look angry at least. He turned to Hermione ready to hear her explanation.

"I already told you why I didn't tell you I was a prefect, Ron Weasley," she said rather crossly.

"No, you didn't!" Ron incredulously.

"Oh yes I did. Right when we first got on the train. It's not my fault you weren't listening," Hermione retorted.

"Wha-? Oh, yeah…" Ron remembered, flushing slightly.

"Now what are you going to do about this?" she demanded of him.

He looked at her blankly and recovered. "Both of you still could have told me before we arrived here," he complained.

"Would you have listened?" 

"Of course, I would have," he sputtered back.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other before laughing. 

"I can't believe you said that Ron! You wouldn't have listened at all!" Harry exclaimed still laughing. Hermione winked at Fred, George, and Harry.

"Right, and there's only one thing to do with people like you Ron Weasley," Hermione said menacingly. All four of them crept up to where Ron was, while he was trying to back up as much as he could.

"Now!" On that pre-planned signal, the four of them whipped out one of the Weasley Wizards Wheezes' fake wands that changed into rubber haddocks and started to whack him with them. Fred and George were definitely getting into the spirit of things (Hermione had to make sure none of the wands changed to tin parrots before they entered the compartment).

"We're going to knock some sense into you Ron even if it takes us the entire trip! Literally!" Hermione yelled while laughing with the other three attackers.

Ron began to laugh as well and finally managed to yell out, "Okay, okay! Enough already."

They stopped, eventually. Harry had to pull Fred and George off of Ron and the twins ran off with Lee to continue their rubber haddock war. 

Left alone in the compartment, Harry, Hermione, and Ron stared at each other. 

"I am sorry I never told either of you guys. I should have, and…I'm sorry I didn't," Hermione said apologetically.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have assumed what your reactions would be. I mean, you two are my closest friends. If I can't tell you, who can I? The Dursleys?" He laughed sarcastically at the last statement.

"So, do you forgive us Ron, for not telling you? Both of us are really sorry. And, I couldn't imagine if you were still angry," she pleaded. "Besides, if not, we'll call Fred and George back in," she threatened.

Ron laughed and pretended to cringe. "No, anything but those two!" he joked. 

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you guys earlier. Friends?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course!" Harry replied, while Hermione said emphatically, "Forever".

Hermione looked at the two of them with their silly smiles on their face, knowing fully that the same goofy smile was on her face, and her eyes welled up with tears. She ran and hugged them both as tightly as she could. 

"Oh, let's not fight again. I _hate_ it when we fight," Hermione cried to the two of them.

Ron looked over Hermione to Harry, "Blimey, she's off her rocker now." Harry shrugged and rolled his eyes in return. She punched them both in the arm and was prepared to reprimand them when Ron held up his hands in a defensive gesture.

"Don't yell Hermione. You hate it when we fight remember?" he jokingly remarked. He paused and continued, "Besides, I'm hungry. I haven't had any food since breakfast. Harry, have you seen the food cart lady go by?" 

Harry talked to Ron while Hermione rolled her eyes and sat down to read her prefect package with a smile on her face. _Everything is going to turn out just fine this year_, she thought happily.

~***~

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~***~

A/N: So what did you think? Come on, review! Lol! 

White: Oh, you should review. You really, really should! Although, I must admit, I was notorious before for reading stories and reviewing. But I changed, honest! ;-) Thanks for adding me on to your list of fav's; that's AWESOME! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Eleanor: I thought having it in Hermione's perspective would give it a slight difference. I'm sorry, but what questions did you have? I tried to find a review from you before, but I couldn't find it. As for the book, I think J.K. Rowling will pair them up eventually. I can't _wait_ for the 5th book to come out though!

Omega: Thanks a lot! I hope the 4 days weren't too long!

Rally-as-Twiddle's: I wanted to get this up earlier, but I had 2 papers and an assignment due on Friday, and I needed sleep by the time I got home. But I made it extra long! hopeful expression that this makes it all better

Bluetreeleaves: I tried to keep it with J.K. Rowling's character. What creative inspirations authors choose to use is up to them, as it is a fanfic site, however, I can't do that because I can't see it happen without bursting into laughter. Call it lack of creativity, or something. Anyway, certain guys suck for sure. Like your wanna-be stalker dude. It's amazing how immature they can be sometimes. Not all, but some ;-)

Blue: I read your review and made sure Ron wasn't lonely anymore ;-) I have forgotten good-for-nothing boy. I just blame it on his immaturity level and thank God that I didn't go out with him in the first place! pats herself on the back for her good sense lol! Blue is my favourite colour too; I had to expand my wardrobe because the majority of my clothes were blue!

Madison: He's one of my favourite characters too, but he certainly fits the stereotype of a redhead eh? Thanks for the compliments on my chapter!

HermioneM: They freak me out too! Guys really do act like little petulant 5 year olds. One moment they're happy, but if they don't get what they want, temper tantrum!

MusicalRose: Sorry! But you made it public first right? But could you imagine going out with a real Percy? Scary thought! I can't wait to read book 5 to see what happens with Percy! Actually, with everyone and everything. I hope Ms. Rowling hurries up!!! I had to include the robes. After all, George and Fred promised Harry, and I couldn't imagine Ron wearing those old maroon robes again! shudders

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A/N: Thanks so much. Not only on the support of this story (I haven't received one flame – yea!) but on good-for-nothing boy as well! You guys ROCK! big hug to all my reviewers!

shal


	12. Sorting, students, and a kiss

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A/N: I know, I know! Another chapter! I'm so proud of myself right now ;-)

Disclaimer: Do I really have to do another one…?

~***~

"When do you think we'll reach Hogwarts?" Ron asked, looking up from the game of Exploding Snap he and Harry were in the middle of playing. Harry shrugged, his mouth full of Pumpkin Pasties. Ron had lost his appetite when he popped a mouldy cheese flavoured Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans, so Harry was left to finish the rest of the snacks. 

Ron looked to where Hermione was, "Hey Hermione, what do you think?"

Hermione finally tore her eyes away from the prefect package she was reading, "What do I think of what, Ron?"

"When we'll get to Hogwarts," Ron repeated.

"Probably very soon, I would think. Most likely, in the next few minutes," she answered, frowning a little trying to calculate the time that had passed by. Ron shrugged, and continued playing his game with Harry while Hermione tried to finish reading. She didn't get too far, however. She glanced at Ron and Harry and sighed a little inside. She knew everything was great right now, but she wondered when was the next time one of them would blow up at the other. She was realistic enough to know that they wouldn't be able to go along without arguing sometime this year. Especially her and Ron. Even though she and Ron seemed fine right now, she knew that they were still avoiding a lot of things. She told him that she wasn't interested in Viktor, but she never explained anything. It was the same during the Yule Ball. They yelled and waved their arms in front of the other's face, and then decided to leave it as is. It works well for the short-term, but neither of them forgets about it, and it ends up hanging over them like a dark cloud. 

Hermione sighed once more, and looked away from the two of them. She wasn't ready to deal with it though, not yet. She twisted around her seat to take a look outside the window.

"Hey guys! I can see the station! We're almost there!" Hermione exclaimed. The three of them got ready stuffing their books, food, and game in their bags and pockets and got ready to disembark.

~***~

"All righ', Harry?" Hagrid yelled to him when the three of them got off the train. Harry smiled broadly and waved his arm. Hagrid had already called the nervous first years, and Harry figured he would be able to talk to him later on rather than trying to wade through the pool of students.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron clambered into one of the horseless carriages that would lead them to the place they would live for the next ten months.

"So, what do you have to do as prefects?" Ron asked curiously. 

"They didn't really tell us much actually, other than to be good role models, and not to be mean to the other houses, like Slytherin," Harry answered.

"Takes away all the fun of being a prefect, doesn't it" Ron said disappointedly.

"Being a prefect does not mean we get to make sure that Slytherin doesn't win the House Cup, Ron," Hermione said, straightening up in her seat. "It means for us to be responsible, mature –"

"And we also know what our password is," Harry interjected much to Hermione's annoyance.

"What is it?" Ron asked eagerly, leaning forward.

"Harry, you can't tell him yet. All Gryffindors will find out when we get to the port-" Hermione tried to stop him.

"Butterbeer," Harry said, not listening to his fellow prefect, with a grin on his face.

"Wicked!" Ron said smiling.

"Harry!" Hermione said bossily, not looking pleased at all.

"Yes Hermione?" Harry finally turned to her looking innocently with his eyes wide open.

"Never mind," taking one look at him. She saw the two of them exchange winks, and couldn't help but laugh. "You two are _hopeless_, you know that?"

They didn't bother to grace her with a comment, but laughed with her instead.

~***~

When the carriage pulled up to the Entrance Hall, the three stepped out and ran up the stairs to the Great Hall. They sat down near the middle of the Gryffindor table and watched as the rest of their school file in. 

Hermione let her eyes roam the Head Table. She saw Professor McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Flitwick. Well, she could barely see Professor Flitwick, even though he appeared to be sitting on five heavy books. There was Hagrid, Professor Vector, Snape, Sprout, and Sinistra as well. There was also a witch with long, thick black hair that she didn't recognise.

"Hey guys, I guess we have our new DADA professor," Hermione remarked.

"Who?" they both asked. Hermione rolled her eyes. 

"If you look at the Head Table, you would notice the new teacher," Hermione said.

"You don't know that for certain. She could be our new potions professor, and Snape could be the DADA professor," Ron said trying to irritate his brainy friend. Unfortunately, this did not prove to be a wise decision. Hermione ended kicking his ankle under the table while glaring at him, while Harry was choking on the food he hid from the train exclaiming how that would ruin his favourite subject.

Before Harry could express himself intelligently, the Sorting Hat was brought in, and Professor McGonagall opened the door to admit the trembling first years.

Hermione felt a sudden pity for them. She remembered how she felt, before she realised that all she would have to do would try on a hat!

The Great Hall suddenly went silent, as they realise it was time for the Sorting Hat.

__

In a time long ago,

Four wizards came to be,

And with them came this magical school

That you all do now see.

They gathered children left and right

To teach them all things new,

But when it came to sorting them

They knew not what to do.

All four wizards valued qualities

Different from each other,

And so they created the Sorting Hat (that's me!)

To choose one student from the other.

To Gryffindor went the students

Who could fight brave and true,

And so they set their path

By making it straight and true.

Those who went to Hufflepuff 

Knew they were loyal and just,

And kept their hard-working ability

As they knew they must.

Witty and clever were the students

Who wound up in Ravenclaw,

And those who passed this test,

Studied with them as the rest of us saw.

The last house that came to be

Slytherin was its name,

And those who were ambitious and proud,

Came here to claim their fame.

So try me on, and let me see

What the future holds for you,

I will tell you which house you belong in

Until you bid "Adieu!"

(A/N: Sorry, I couldn't think of any other way to finish this last stanza smiles apologetically for any cringes that just occurred on her readers' faces)

The entire Hall burst into applause and cheers, and Hermione watched as the new students looked at each other in slight relief.

The three of them duly cheered for any new Gryffindor, and after Hermione gave a venomous look to her friends, they stopped hissing at any new Slytherin student. 

Finally the sorting was finished, and everyone grabbed their fork and raised his or her eyes to Professor Dumbledore knowing the food was about to come very quickly. However, instead of the Headmaster allowing them to eat, he cleared his throat, and started speaking.

"Before we start on our dinner, I would like to wish congratulations on our newly sorted first year students." Everyone clapped politely alongside their Headmaster.

"We still have a few more students to sort, and I'm sure you will extend a gracious welcome to our new students," Dumbledore continued.

"What's he talking about?" Ron whispered. Hermione and Harry looked just as confused as the rest of the students. The first years were sorted, so who was left? Hermione glanced around before nudging Ron and Harry. There were three students dressed Hogwarts robes standing inconspicuously in the far corner. They all had black cloaks over them, and had the hood pulled up hiding their faces in shadows.

Dumbledore graciously swept his hand ushering them to where the Sorting Hat was placed. No names were called, and the entire school seemed breathless. The first student placed the Sorting Hat on their head (Hermione couldn't tell if they were female or male due to the robe and cloak) and eventually they all heard, "Sixth Year! Hufflepuff!" People clapped, but the student did not sit down at the Hufflepuff table. He stood in front of it instead, keeping the hood raised. 

A murmur began to race down the tables, but quickly was shushed down as the second and third students were placed into Ravenclaw (Seventh Year) and Hufflepuff (Fifth Year). They too kept their cloaks on and stood in front of their respective tables.

All eyes were placed on Dumbledore expectantly. 

"As you know, times are troubled, and we at Hogwarts extended any safe refuge that students wanted. These three students accepted this offer and are placed now in Hogwarts in the year and house the Sorting Hat deemed best." Dumbledore nodded to the three students in front of him, and they hesitantly raised their arms to lower their hood.

There was one girl and one boy placed at Hufflepuff, but Hermione wasn't paying them much attention at the moment. Standing in front of the Ravenclaw table was none other than Viktor Krum, and he was staring right at her. 

__

Oh no…

She couldn't dwell on it much longer, because she soon became aware of another person staring at her.

"Hermione," Ron growled at her, looking angrier than ever.

~***~

(A/N: I was going to leave it off here, but I decided to be nice an continue on ;-))

Hermione turned slightly to meet his gaze, "Before you say anything Ron, I _swear_ I didn't know he was coming to Hogwarts! He never said one word to be about this before. I'm just as surprised as you are."

It seemed to work, slightly. She finally figured out that if she wanted Ron to see reason, she would have to jump right in before he could get into a tirade and come up with some unbelievable thoughts. 

Ron looked at her warily before turning to Harry with a questioning look. 

"I believe her Ron. She couldn't fake an expression like that," Harry answered to his unsaid question.

If she wasn't rocked by the fact that Viktor was in their school, she probably would have laughed with or kicked Harry. Right now, she was just happy that she had one of her best friends on her side and she smiled at him gratefully.

Dumbledore finally introduced the three new students. Of course everyone was already buzzing about Viktor Krum, as they had done when he came for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. 

"The two students newly sorted into Hufflepuff are Amelie Bégin and Gregor van den Bosch, and the student in Ravenclaw is a returning friend –" Ron hmmphed at this "- Viktor Krum."

Everyone in the Hall once again clapped as the three sat down at their respective table, although Hermione noticed that Ron did the action rather sullenly. She decided not to make an issue out of it though.

"I think I will save the rest of the speech after dinner, so Bon Appetit!"

On that cue the food appeared in great heaps all along the table. The older students now being used to this grabbed platters immediately, while the new ones "ooohh"ed and "aaww"ed at the sight. 

"Why do you think he's here?" Harry asked. Hermione knew exactly whom he was talking about.

"Dumbledore did invite the Durmstrang students to come, especially as Karkaroff left," Hermione reasoned. Ron just grunted into his food, but at least he was listening.

"Where do you think Karkaroff ended up going?" Hermione wondered, and trying to change the topic at the time. Ron looked up this time.

"I don't think there's many places you could hide from You-Know-Who," he shrugged. This time it was Harry who didn't look up from his plate. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other and fell silent. In the end, the three of them ate the rest of their meal quietly.

When everyone was finished, Dumbledore once again stood up, and waved his wand to clean the tables. 

"Before you all leave to the comforts of your bed, let me introduce you to your Defence Against Dark Arts Professor, Professor Andsware," and he started clapping leading the rest of the school to follow. Professor Andsware nodded her head graciously to the Headmaster.

"Let me also remind you that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden as always. Also, in a couple of weeks, there will be Quidditch tryouts for positions that are not filled. Please ask your Head of House for the details." Dumbledore smiled at everyone, "I can't think of anything else to say, so goodnight and sleep tight!"

The student body rose and prefects could be heard telling the first years to follow them. Harry, Hermione, and Ron started to move to the Gryffindor first years, but the next thing she knew, she was crushed against Ron, and his lips were on hers.

"Mmmmph" She managed to push him away, glaring at him. "What are you _doing_ Ron?!"

But his eyes weren't on hers. She turned around and saw that Viktor had come to where they were standing to say hi to her.

"Viktor," she said a little weakly.

"Herm-own-ninny," he replied a little abruptly. Ron was still looking at him with a look that she didn't want to face at the moment.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming here?" she asked taking a deep breath.

"I vanted it to be a surprise," he said, "but maybe I vas the vone who vas surprised." With that, he turned his back to her, and walked back to his fellow Ravenclaws.

She spun on her heel to face Ron.

"Ron Weasley, what were you _thinking_!!!" she managed to say between clenched teeth, resisting the urge to slap him. Harry just ogled the two of them unable to say a word, while Ron's ears and neck started to turn a bright shade of red as he looked down at her.

~***~

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A/N: So what did you think? Not exactly a romantic moment between Ron and Hermione, but they did kiss! And did you like the fact that Viktor's now a Hogwarts student? I didn't know if he graduated, so I let the Sorting Hat decide that he should be in 7th Year (didn't learn all the stuff in Durmstrang, or something – cheap way out, mais c'est la vie! ;-))

And what did you think of my Sorting Hat Song? I'm not much of a poet (at all, actually), so don't flame me _too_ much!!

Rally-as-Twiddle's: Finals stink, don't they? I have mine in April. I should start studying for them!

Ginny Potter: Thank you so much! Sorry if I seem to drag the 'spark' between the two of them, but could you really imagine them getting together right away? No way, they have too many personality conflicts!

Bluetreeleaves: Sorry that there's no Fred and George in this chapter. There'll be some in the next for sure. I haven't seen the 'scumbag' (I like the name!), but I have class with him tomorrow. Ugh!

Madison: thanks so much for the compliments! I don't think Rowling will let these three separate in the end, no matter what happens in the middle, so that's the angle I went with.

MusicalRose: I was a prefect in my high school (no badges, but we did have to wear ties that symbolised us being prefects), so I had an idea of what a prefect meeting would be like. Of course, there were no rivalries between Gryffindors and Slytherins!

HermioneM: Again, they kissed in this chapter, even if it wasn't romantic. Be patient…it'll come…eventually ;-) And hey, you didn't have to wait 4 long days at all. Aren't you proud of me??? Lol!

Please review, as I appreciate all comments!

shal


	13. Demanding an apology

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A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm going to warn you all, that you may be slightly disappointed with this chapter. I had major writer's block, and I finally managed to get this out. The next chapter will definitely be better – promise!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything involved with the Harry Potter series: the characters, the settings. Nada.

~***~

No thoughts were coherent in her mind except for two: Viktor was here and Ron just kissed her. She faced the latter one seething with anger. Her hands on her hips, tapping her foot against the paved floor, she awaited Ron's answer impatiently.

"Well??" She demanded of him. His avoided her gaze and looked off to the side.

"Looking over there at the empty table isn't going to help you. Now what on earth possessed you to _kiss_ me?!" She asked again.

"I, uh, I…," Ron began to stutter.

"No. Forget it. I don't want to even look at you right now, let alone hear you excuse," she said, holding up one of her hands to stop him from continuing. "Harry, we have to lead our first years." And without a backwards glance to her red-haired (and ears, face, and neck by now) friend, she exited the Great Hall with Harry and the first year students in tow.

~***~

She swept up the marble stairs in the entrance hall glancing occasionally at the group behind her to make sure they were following. She strode down the passageways and climbed stairways in an instinctive fashion having gone through this route so many times in the past. It was a good thing too; she wasn't sure she could do it with all the thoughts that were racing through her mind. 

"Excuse me…" She felt a smaller hand tug on her robes. 

"What?" she snapped back as she turned to face the person who interrupted her. Hermione saw the little girl's eyes widen with fear as she stepped back to the protective group of first years. Wave of remorse and guilt washed over Hermione.

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologised, "Did you have a question?" The first year warily went back to Hermione's side.

"Why are those people moving?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" 

"Those ones," she said, pointing up to the portraits hanging on the wall. Hermione followed to where her hand was pointing, and smiled.

"Let me guess, you're the first on in your family to be a witch," she guessed. The girl started to blush.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Because I'm one too, and I remember how shocked I was to learn that wizard photos and paintings move," Hermione explained. "Don't worry, soon you won't even notice that the paintings move or talk anymore." Hearing this, the portrait of a group of women reading in front of the fireplace, put down their books and muttered about how inconsiderate children nowadays were.

"Sorry ladies, that didn't quite come out the way it was supposed to," Hermione explained. She looked down into her brown eyes, "What's your name?" 

"Anne, with an 'e'," she said. "What's yours?"

"Hermione," she smiled, "and if you have any questions about Hogwarts, Anne – with an e - just ask me, okay?"

"Sure, thanks!" Anne said happily. Anne stepped back to join the rest of her classmates while Hermione continued to lead them through the passages. Hermione saw Harry look at her with concern and he started to move towards her, but she waved him off. She didn't want to talk about anything relating to Ron and that kiss right now.

They finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady in the pink dress. Hermione turned to their expectant, yet tired, charges. 

"Inside is portrait is the Gryffindor common room, which I'm sure Professor McGonagall explained before you got sorted. It's where you will sleep and study –" 

"- and have fun and make new friends," Harry interjected. "To enter in, you will need to say a password to our protector." The Fat Lady nodded at Harry and peered at the new students, seemingly sizing them up.

"The password for now is butterbeer. Make sure you don't tell the password to anyone but the Gryffindor students," Hermione told them. The portrait swung open.

"The girls room are on this side and the boys room is over there," Hermione pointed the stairwells and watched them move slowly up the tower. 

She turned her head slightly when all the students were out of her sight and let her gaze rest on Harry whose eyes were on her.

"What Harry?" she asked wearily.

"Do you want me to talk to Ron?" he offered, seeing that Ron was not in the common room.

Hermione shook her head. "There's not much point is here? I think I know _why_ he did it, but I still can't _believe_ he did it!"

"He might have, you know…" Harry stopped, not really knowing what to say.

Again Hermione shook her head. "Don't bother making excuses for him, Harry." She paused before continuing on, "I'm tired, and besides, we still have to finish reading our prefect packages, right?"

Harry nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast?"

"Of course. Good night." And moved towards her room, hoping Parvati & Lavender weren't already there ready to badger her about the kiss.

~***~

Hermione woke up feeling like her head was full of sand. She placed her hands on either side of her head to hold it in place. She thought back to the night before. Luckily, her roommates weren't in and she tried to finish reading some notes. When she heard voices behind her door, she quickly blew out the candle on her night table, and tucked herself in her bed pretending to be asleep. It took her a long time to fall asleep, and even then, it was a restless sleep.

After a few minutes, the thrumming lightened up, and she managed to prop herself on her pillows. It seemed like Parvati & Lavender were still sleeping, so Hermione silently changed in her bed and dashed to the adjoining washroom to brush her teeth and run a brush through her hair. She stuck her head out of the door, made sure the two girls were still sleeping, before exiting their room and heading down the stairs to the common room.

No one else was there, which wasn't much of a surprise to Hermione. She sat down in one of the comfy armchairs and stared at the fire that roared before her eyes. The worst thing about this was the fact that Ron kissed her to make Viktor jealous. There was no meaning to it, other than to extract revenge and to claim her as his…_property_. Her eyes narrowed at the thought of her being anyone's property.

At least the kiss with Viktor in Bulgaria had meaning to it, even if it didn't feel right. What Ron did was _use_ her, and he was definitely going to have to answer to that.

She sat silently in the armchair before hearing two sets of footsteps coming from the boys' tower. She listened silently to the conversation, knowing they hadn't seen her yet.

"You're going to have to face her sometime Ron, and it might as well be now," Harry reasoned.

Silence.

"Why did you kiss her?" Harry asked curiously. Hermione wanted to know too, and perked her ears to listen carefully.

Ron let out an exasperated sigh. 

"Krum knew where she was sitting, and made no action trying to hide that he was paying his full attention to her. And when he came over, I…well, I just wanted to let him know that if he hurt her, he would have to deal with me," he said finally.

"And so you KISSED me?!" Hermione shrieked at him. Ron winced, as both boys turned to see Hermione jump out of her chair and face them. "That was the best idea you could come up with? And why would you think that I would need protecting from Viktor in the first place. He's my friend, Ron!"

"Well, isn't it great timing that when You-Know-Who comes to power, we have a student come here from Durmstrang, where they teach Dark Arts, and he could act as a spy," Ron said defensively.

"And isn't it also great timing that when You-Know-Who comes to power that students who are possible targets would come to Dumbledore for _protection_," she shouted back. "Besides, if he was a spy, wouldn't the Sorting Hat know? It'd place him in Slytherin, and not Ravenclaw!"

Ron blinked. That thought never obviously occurred to him.

"You have got to stop this Ron, especially as Viktor is our classmate. Try to get to know him, and I really do think you'll like him," Hermione pleaded.

"I'm not talking to him," she heard him mutter.

She bristled up, "Oh yes you are Ron Weasley. This morning in fact when we go down for breakfast. You are going to walk up to him and apologise for what you did yesterday."

"Oh come on Hermione. I'm sorry for yesterday. Isn't that enough? Why do I have to say sorry to him? It was you I kissed, not him!" Ron's face had paled at her news and tried desperately to get out of it. He didn't do a good job, as Hermione's face and stature reminded him suddenly of a cross between his own mother back at the Burrow, and Professor McGonagall, both whom he didn't want to face right now. He gulped, and finally agreed. "Fine, I'll apologise to him."

"Good, then let's go to the Great Hall right now," Hermione stated perfunctorily and leading a miserable-looking Ron, with Harry, out of the portrait hole.

~***~

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A/N: All, right, let me have it now. What'd you think?

MusicalRose: I thought I would definitely get some flames if I left it at Viktor being sorted. Actually, that's where I came up with this plot: what if Viktor accepted Dumbledore's offer, and came to Hogwarts. I had chapter 12 written up a LONG time ago, and had major fun writing & revising it!

Rally-as-Twiddles: Sorry, I never got this out soon. Chapter 12 is/was one of the pinnacle chapters in this story, and it was a little difficult trying to figure out where to go from there. 

Geneviève: Ron is a little crazy right now, but he's start to show some signs of being normal again by the next chapter. I'm glad you like it!

Omega: Thank you very much, and I will! ;-)

Ginny Potter: I know what you mean; I read a few of those stories too. I find it takes longer for 2 friends to admit that they like each other, than 2 people who don't really no each other. BTW: I guess you're a G/H fan? J 

MickEmousina: I don't think I'm going to kill off Viktor anytime soon, but I know what you mean! Thanks for reviewing!

Bluetreeleaves: You're so sweet to say that! Stories that I like…hmmm…my tastes are pretty wide & eccentric, so excuse the difference (ratings, people, plot, etc.). 

There are a couple of authors I like a lot on a site called Diagon Alley (http://home.nyu.edu/~amw243/): Lori & Cassandra Claire. They're pretty long stories, and both have sequels, so they should tide you over until spring break comes along ;-) "A Perfect Match" (by Geena) is good too. It has a NC-17 rating, so beware! I liked it because it actually had a plot, unlike other NC-17 stories! "A little of your time" (by Serpentina) is good, but isn't complete yet, and hasn't been updated in AGES grumble, grumble "Lily" by Ariana is good and long (59 chapters!) "Heart, Star, Light" (by Angels of Fate) is cute & different 

Hopefully this will kill some time for you!

HermioneM: Thanks for the Sorting Hat compliment. You are the first, and only, one to compliment it, so I think I will take the hint, and not try my hand at anymore poetry. Lol!

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Thanks again for the reviews, and tell me what you think! Any criticism and/or compliment will help! 

shal.


	14. First day of class

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A/N: Another chapter done. I tried to make this a little light-hearted as I felt the last couple had quite a bit of drama involved.

Disclaimer: I don't _wanna_ do another one! pouts at the computer screen

~***~

The three of them walked down the stairs, Hermione holding onto Ron's arm to keep him from dragging his feet. Harry was on the other side of Ron, but he kept his hands to himself.

They landed eventually, in front of the doors leading to the Great Hall. Hermione peered inside and saw Viktor at the Ravenclaw table sitting by himself as there were only a few other Ravenclaws awake and eating.

"Good he's there," Hermione reported to the two of them. Ron looked like he was going to make one last desperate plea to her. "Listen, you're going to do this whether you like it or not, so you might as well do it now while there aren't many students here so you'll make less of a scene." She looked at him until he finally nodded, and walked in with him.

She was sure Viktor noticed the three of them come in, but he gave no indication of it, and kept his head down while eating his ham and eggs. She nudged Ron to get him talking, as he was just standing there not saying a word. 

"Umm, Viktor?" Ron called out, trying to get his attention. Viktor looked up, but didn't say a word and looked back with cold eyes. "Hi. I'm Ron Weasley." Viktor still said nothing. "Err, okay." Hermione saw Ron take a breath and try a different tact and watched him spit out in one breath before his face turned even more red – if that was even possible by now. 

"I, err, wanted to talk to you about yesterday. The kiss meant nothing. To Hermione, or me. And I kissed her. She knew nothing about it. So if you want to be angry, be angry with me, not her. Hermione had no idea, and I'm sorry. To the both of you." Ron looked at Viktor and Hermione, sincerity written all over his eyes. 

She knew how hard it was for him to say that. Not only to her, but to him as well. She smiled a little at him, hoping he understood that she accepted his apology. She turned to Viktor who was looking at her and Ron. 

"So, you two are not going out?" he asked. Ron shook his head, "No." Then he stopped and looked at Viktor and her, "Why, are you two?" This time Viktor had to say "no". Both guys looked at each other, relief written all over their faces.

"Oh, good grief. Let's go eat breakfast," Hermione said more that a little exasperated, dragging Ron and Harry with her before that conversation could continue.

"Ron, I haccept your apology!" Viktor shouted to their retreating backs. Ron twisted slightly and waved back at Krum with a big grin on his face.

The three sat down at the table and while Hermione and Harry dived right in and grabbed their breakfast items, Ron looked around the room and gave a sight of relief. "At least Malfoy wasn't here to see that."

~***~

Hermione was just finishing up her breakfast when Fred came by and put a headlock on Ron in a playful manner (it looked less painful than the one Millicent Bulstrode put on her in second year!). George put his elbows on the table and leaned in between Ron and her. 

"Awww, look, it's our two little lovebirds. We were _very_ insulted that we didn't know you two were, well, you know," George said puckering his lips and making kissing noises 

"Our little Ronnie-kins is all grown up now," Fred said while messing up Ron's hair.

"Geroff Fred!" Ron shouted irritably.

"Maybe we should take the two of them and have a little talk about what it means to be grown up," George suggested to his twin.

Before Fred could agree, Ron finally managed to fight his way out of his brother's grasp. "You don't have to talk to us about anything!" Ron's face was very red by this time, "Hermione and I are _not_ going out!"

The twins laughed. "We know that you goof. Hermione's too smart to go out with a dunce like you," George replied before leaving to find their own seat leaving Ron with shaking with frustration. Fred winked at Harry and Hermione who were laughing, although Hermione had a bit of a blush on her face from George's last comment.

~***~

A few minutes later, Hermione, Harry, and the four other Gryffindor prefects were asked by Professor McGonagall to pass out the time schedules to their housemates. They each took a pile, and Hermione ended up with the second years' schedules. She finished passing them out to each student, and went back to her seat beside Ron. She turned to Harry who was still passing the schedules out to the fifth year students. 

"Give me mine Harry," she demanded, holding her hand out to him. She knew he had deliberately taken their year so she would be the last one to find out her schedule was like. 

He grinned at her, "Just a moment. I have to give these out first." She scowled at him good-naturedly, but drummed her fingers impatiently on the table. She watched him hand out the last few remaining sheets, and finally he handed the last one to her with flourish. 

She snatched it out of his arm and scanned it hurriedly. "Oh good, Arithmancy is first!" Ron and Harry rolled their eyes as they continued to eat their breakfast. She continued, "I guess that means you two have Divinations first," she smiled wickedly.

She watched with great amusement as their eyes widened and they scrambled to look at their own schedules. They groaned simultaneously.

"What a way to start a year," Harry moaned.

"My day can't get any worse than this," Ron said, burying his face in his hands.

"At least you don't have to hear predictions on your death," Harry countered.

"No, I just have to make them up," Ron said looking up.

Lavender and Parvati were nearby and listened with frowns on their faces. Parvati tossed her long black hair away from her shoulders, "Divinations is a great class. _I've_ been practising with my inner eye all summer."

"Having Divinations first is a great way to start the year. We can find out how well we'll do this year in the O.W.Ls and the House Cup. I can't wait to ask Professor Trelawny about her predictions," Lavender said excitedly.

Ron and Harry rolled their eyes again in utter despair, while Hermione covered her mouth with her hand and tried not to snicker too loud.

~***~

Once Harry and Ron finished eating (Hermione read her Arithmancy waiting for them to finish up), they ran to the common room, grabbed their bag and books and headed down again. They had to leave early, as it would take Ron and Harry awhile to get to their room.

"See you at Hagrid's for Care of Magical Creatures!" Ron shouted over his shoulder when they went their separate ways. 

Hermione waved and headed down a hallway to her classroom. She walked in a leisurely manner knowing she had plenty of time to get there. She turned up a passageway and noticed a group of Ravenclaws ahead of her.

"Viktor!" Hermione called out. The blonde haired boy turned around with a surprised look on his face.

"Hermy-own-ninny!" His face broke out in a smile as he made his way to her. "Are you in my Transfiguration class?" He asked, pointing to his textbook.

She shook her head, "No, that's a seventh year course. I'm heading towards my Arithmancy class. How are you liking Hogwarts so far?"

"Good. I vish my friends from Durmstrang vere here, but the Ravenclaws are ffery nice and smart," he replied with a slight shrug.

"Viktor," Hermione turned serious, "I'm sorry for what Ron did yesterday, and I know he's really sorry about it too."

"It's okay Herm-own-ninny. I vas ffery surprised, but he said he vas sorry, and it's okay."

"You're an amazing guy, you know that?" Hermione marvelled at him. He looked down at her a little embarrassed, and offered to walk with her partway to her classroom. 

~***~

Hermione entered the classroom with relish, not only because she managed to make sure everything was all right with Viktor, but because this was one of her favourite classes. 

She remembered reading about the Trojan War before she discovered she was a witch, and was fascinated about the characters and their roles: Achilles, Hector, Cassandra, Aeneas, Helen, Paris, and Odysseus. 

When she was in her second year, she decided to research the electives that she would have to choose for her next year. In the Arithmancy section of the library, she found a book telling the tale of the Trojan War, but in a different angle. Here, Cassandra was a seer (she wasn't a fake like Trelawny) who foretold the doom of the city. The Greeks had also used Arithmancy to predict the death of Hector by Achilles' hand. 

Hermione had never told Ron and Harry the true reason why she was so intrigued about Arithmancy – she was sure they would just make fun of her. 

She sat down in the front desk and copied down all the numbers and runes of this mystical alphabet that Professor Vector wrote and discussed.

~***~

Hermione walked as quickly possible down the corridors. She didn't dare run down as Filch would call it "reckless behaviour" and would give her a detention on the first day. Her bookbag swung from her shoulder and kept hitting her hip as she moved to the door that would lead to Hagrid's Hut. 

Seeing a tall redhead and a shorter (although, she admitted that Harry had grown a couple of inches during the summer) black-haired boy, she hurried to their side.

"Hi," she panted slightly, holding a hand to her side and dropping her bag to the ground with a big _thump_. "How'd you guys get here so fast?"

The two of them grinned at each other, "Trelawny had us use Ouija boards to contact the dead," Ron started. "We had our fingers on the 3-legged window piece –" 

"- a planchette," Harry informed Hermione. 

"- asking it questions and allowing it to move –"

"-more like pushing it," Harry laughed.

"_Anyway_, Trelawny came over, and started asking our Ouija boards questions such as 'Will Harry leave us forever?', 'Will You-Know-Who finally seek revenge?', and so on. Of course, the piece kept moving to 'yes' because she was pushing it!" Ron continued.

"The next thing we know, everyone's planchettes flew up and started hitting Trelawny! It was the funniest thing! She finally opened the curtains and windows, and let everyone out early!" Harry was laughing so hard he could barely continue by this time.

"Who did it?" Hermione asked. "They must have gotten in serious trouble."

"That's the best thing, Hermione! Old Trelawny couldn't figure it out. Her inner eye must be interrupting with her magical abilities, or something," Ron said sarcastically.

"She wanted us all to stay behind and confess, but then Seamus said that maybe it was the spirits who caused it as they didn't like the questions," Harry shook his head in disbelief.

"You didn't!" Hermione turned to Seamus.

He looked at her all innocent-like, "You never know Hermione what those ghosts do for fun. And she couldn't argue it, because she's _supposed_ to believe in spirits and ghosts!"

Hermione gave up by this point. Even though she knew they broke so many rules, she couldn't help but laugh at Trelawny too. 

"Trelawny told us that we have to do a two foot composition on Ouija boards, and then told us to leave," Ron concluded proudly.

"Two hours into school, and you already cause trouble…although I wish I was there to see it!" Hermione conceded.

The group of them looked at each other before bursting into laughter once again trying to compose themselves as they saw Hagrid coming towards the class with a big crate.

~***~

A/N: I decided to leave it off here 'cause my brain hurts. lol! 

Vy: I never really thought about Lucius having an influence on Draco being prefect; I just figured he would study so Lucius wouldn't get mad at him. Except, he's not as bright as our Hermione! Did you really foresee Viktor coming? I was hoping to make it a surprise but I guess my twists in my story need work, or my readers are just too bright. Probably both, lol! The "Anne-with an 'e'" came from Anne of Green Gables, a Canadian pride. Also, because my middle name is Ann, and I've been bitter since I first read the book that my name didn't have an 'e'! I gave my mom so much grief when I was 10 years old about that! lol!

Rally-as-Twiddle's: I think so too! On both accounts! Out of curiosity, how did you come up with your name?

HermioneM: thank you so much!!! It means so much to me!!

Bluetreeleaves: Sorry that this chapter wasn't fast, but I hope you liked it anyway! Were you finally able to upload your story onto ffnet?

MusicalRose: I thought that too, but he left Dursmtrang, which kind of defeats loyalty (depending on who he was loyal to in the first place), and he was always in the library. Yes, I know he was wanting to talk to Hermione (is he a stalker then? ;-)), but he must have studied sometime while there!

GinnyPotter: thanks for your review!

Madison: Your review wasn't long at all, and I loved it! Exams, yuck! I have mine in April, and then I get four months for summer vacation! I'm glad you like this, and I guess I'll see you in a couple of weeks! Good luck on your finals!

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A/N: And that is all for now. I have a paper due on Tuesday, so I probably won't upload till Wednesday or Thursday. Just warning you folks!

Shalara


	15. Bluey and a stranger

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A/N: Things are starting to fall into place nicely (in _my_ opinion, at least!) Hope you enjoy! Please excuse Hagrid's speech pattern. I'm not talented like J.K. Rowling to make it like hers, but I did try. Kind of. I gave up after a while. ;-)

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling deserves the praise for coming up with the characters and places, not me. 

~***~

"Al' right there. Come round here an' take a look inside," Hagrid said waving them all to look in the crate he set on the ground. The class looked at each other but no one moved an inch. After an apprehensive glance to each other, Hermione, Harry, and Ron moved to the crate. Harry and Hermione stood up on their toes (Ron was tall enough to see over the top of the crate without having to do this) and looked inside. 

Hermione crinkled her eyebrows, reached inside (the class gasped in the back) and pulled out…a saddle and a bridle. She turned around looking quizzically at Hagrid.

"What do we do with these Hagrid?" she asked. He grinned at her, "Ye'll see," he said mysteriously. 

"Everyone grab a partner an' one saddle," he called loudly. Hagrid moved to where Harry was and said in a low voice, "Harry, you wan' ter partner up with Neville? He migh' get a li'l nervous." Harry nodded a little cautiously before moving towards Neville, not knowing what he was going to get into. Ron and Hermione looked at each other, shrugged, and waited for the rest of the class to get a saddle.

Once everyone was ready, Hagrid led them over to the lake where they found in one section penned up with a fence. 

"All righ', everyone gather 'round," he beckoned them to the fence. He then put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. Everyone watched in amazement as horses came out of the lake and trotted up to the penned area neighing softly at the sight of the students. 

The students were astonished for the horses came out of the _lake_, they were in shades of vibrant colours, blue, greens, reds, bronze, gold, and silver, and they were part _fish!_

Hagrid chuckled softly at their reaction, "Can anyone tell me wha' these are now?"

Hermione raised her hand. "They're Hippocampuses. Half horse, half fish. They're from Greece, but merpeople caught one in Scotland and tamed them," she stated remembering what she read in Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them.

"Righ' Hermione. Five points ter Gryffindor," Hagrid said proudly as he looked at the animals. "These are the creatures we will be studying for the next while. Ye'll learn how ter ride them, feed them, and take care of 'em," Hagrid announced.

Everyone stared at the large animals. "Well, go on then," he urged them to the animals.

Ron and Hermione gave a what-can-we-do glance before hesitantly moving towards a brilliant sapphire blue stallion with silver hooves and mane. The fish part of the hippocampus had blue scales with shimmers of silver and aquamarine green gleaming through. Hermione looked up at it before turning to Ron. 

"I guess we have to put this on it," she said holding up the saddle. 

"Uh huh," he replied stupidly still gazing in awe at the creature. 

"Oh for goodness sake Ron, snap out of it," she said exasperated. She moved in front of him and held her hand out for the hippocampus to smell. It seemed to work as the stallion took a tentative step forward and bowed its head to reach her hand. Hermione lifted her hand and stroked its face. "Well hello to you too," she giggled as the horse butted its head against her. They got to know each other for a couple of more minutes giving the animal time to get familiar with her, and her smell, before Hermione moved to place the saddle and bridle on him. Ron let her do the work while he got acquainted with their new charge. 

"We got to get Bluey-here over to a stone so we can climb onto his back," Hermione said out loud. 

"Bluey?" Ron said amused.

"Well, do you have any ideas of what to call him then?" she retorted back.

He took one look at her face and narrowed eyes. "No, no. Bluey is just fine, isn't it?" he hastily agreed and turned to the stallion. 

They led Bluey over by the bridle to a stepping stone and looked at each other. 

"What do we do now?" Ron asked her. 

"I guess we just get on." Hermione looked at the rest of the class to see if any of them got on, but they seemed to be the first ones to try. Dean's and Seamus' hippocampus was chasing them in the pen, and Harry was trying to get Neville to pet theirs. 

"Ladies first," Ron said, sweeping his arm to Bluey. "Thanks Ron," Hermione said sarcastically. She stood on the stone and placed one leg across Bluey's body and mounted up. She felt Bluey tremble a little not used to a person on its back, but she stroked him gently. "Easy boy, easy," she murmured, holding the bridle with her other hand. 

She looked down at Ron, "Well, are you going to get up here or not?"

She watched as he mounted up with less difficulty than she did and felt him try to get comfortable behind her. "Stop fidgeting Ron, you're going to scare Bluey," she commanded.

"Look! Hermione and Ron managed ter get on their hippocampus," Hagrid shouted happily to the rest of the class. Hermione blushed and kept a tight grip on the bridle as she felt Bluey squirm just as much as Ron did under the scrutiny of so many eyes upon them.

"Why don' ye' take him out for a ride?" Hagrid suggested. "Just do a walk by the lake fer now. Ye' can go faster next lesson." He looked at the two of them sitting a little stiffly on the animal. "Ron, ye' better hold onto Hermione otherwise ye'll fall as soon as ye' move," he said before running to help Parvati stop her hippocampus from chewing Lavender's hair. 

Hermione felt two hands creep up and place themselves shyly on her waist. Her eyes widened and she felt her face warm up, and she knew she must look like a tomato right now. She thanked her lucky stars that Ron was behind her and couldn't see her face. 

She didn't know that he looked just like her at the moment, except he had the red hair to match. 

"Err, I guess we should take Bluey for a walk," Hermione said weakly. She felt Ron nod his head, as his chin brushed slightly against her hair. "Ummm, yeah…okay," she said a little breathlessly. She gripped the reins in both hands and shook them while pressing her ankles to Bluey's body. 

Whether she pressed them a little too much or Bluey was very restless they didn't know, but in the next second Bluey cantered towards the lake. Hermione and Ron held on for dear life and Hermione tried to slow Bluey down. Bluey took a leap and splashed into the water. The impact was too much for Ron and Hermione as they both lost their balance and fell into the shallow water. 

Hermione laid in the murky ground and groaned. She heard Ron calling her name. Opening her eyes, she turned her head and found his face inches from hers.

"Are you okay?" he asked a little concerned, his blue eyes wide and searching her face for any sign of cuts. He was on his side leaning over. They must not have fallen far from each other she realised. 

She nodded slowly. "Can you get up?" Ron asked her. She looked down and placed her hands in the soft mud and braced herself as she brought her knees up so her feet would be on the ground. She raised her head and saw that Ron had already scrambled up and was offering his hand to her. She took it gratefully and he helped her up, both of them soaking wet with their hair and robes dripping beads of water. 

"Hermione! Ron! Are ye' two all righ'?" Hagrid shouted. She felt Ron withdraw his hand from hers quickly as they watched the class run towards them, and she realised she missed that feeling of her hand in his with a pang.

"We're okay Hagrid!" Hermione clambered out of the lake leaving Ron to bring in Bluey.

Ron grabbed Bluey's bridle and hauled him out of the lake. Bluey nickered knowingly at Ron and splashed him with water with its legs. "Oh, bugger off Bluey," Ron muttered under his breath, his face going bright red once more.

~***~

Hagrid cancelled the rest of the class and ushered Harry, Hermione, and Ron into his hut. Fang barked and launched himself on Harry knocking his glasses off one ear.

"Let me make ye' a nice cup o' tea," Hagrid said as he bustled around the room. He put the kettle of water to boil and found a couple of blankets. He tossed the blankets to Ron, "Pu' 'em on and keep warm," he admonished as he looked for cups. 

Ron caught the blankets and placed one of them around Hermione's shoulders. 

"Thank you," she said looking up at him, feeling the warmth spread through her, whether it was from the blanket or his hands on her shoulders she didn't know. He smiled down at her, "No problem." 

Ron then moved over and helped Harry control Fang long enough for Harry to straighten up his glasses. 

Hagrid came over and placed three steaming cups of tea on the table. "I should bring some o' my home made cauldron cakes too," and moved to get some. "No!" all three responded right away. 

"Err, I mean, Hagrid, don't worry about it. We'll eat lunch soon enough, and we want to talk to you anyway," Hermione finished lamely. Hagrid beamed at her and went to retrieve his cup of tea. 

"You mean, his cauldron cakes probably taste like Snape's cauldrons," Ron muttered. Hermione nudged him with his elbow and took a sip of her tea.

"How was your summer Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"Fine, fine. Dumbledore had some important business he wanted me ter take care of," Hagrid said, sitting up a little straighter.

"Oh?" Ron asked, "What did you do?"

"I can't tell ye' now; it's a secret between me and Dumbledore," he answered expansively. The three looked a little disappointed at his lack of information.

Hermione thought of something. "Hagrid, how is Madame Maxime doing?" she asked.

Hagrid brightened up, "Olympe's doing well. Been seeing her all summer meeting the giants an' all…"

"So you've been meeting with the giants! Are they going to going to support us against You-Know-Who? Is Madame Maxime going to support Dumbledore?" Harry pounced on Hagrid's slip-up.

Hagrid was furious with himself. "I can' believe I told you! You mustn' tell anyone. No, forget I told you this myself."

"Oh come on Hagrid, you can trust us. What's been going on with the giants?" Hermione pressed.

"No," he replied shaking his head, "I told ye' too much already. You should go ter your class now." He shooed them out of his hut and closed the door.

The three of them looked at each other. "Something's definitely going on," Harry said. But as there was nothing they could do about it, they trudged back up to the castle to change into some warmer (and less smelly) robes.

~***~

Hermione ran a brush quickly through her semidry hair before leaving her room. She stepped lightly down the stairs towards the common room happier now that she wasn't soaked with muddy water. Harry and Ron were already in the common room playing wizard chess. Harry looked up when Hermione came in the room.

"Hermione! I'm glad you came. Let's go eat some lunch," Harry said in relief.

"Yeah right Harry. You just want to leave because you're losing," Ron laughed, rolling his eyes.

Harry spluttered defensively, but Hermione looked at the chess set and saw Ron was right. Harry's queen, bishop and knight were already taken, and Ron's crown and queen had Harry's king cornered and cowering in fright. 

The three of them got up and followed some other Gryffindors down to the Great Hall.

"What do we have next?" Harry asked them.

"Defence against Dark Arts," Hermione informed him. "I wonder what Professor Andsware will be like," she mused.

"As long as she's not like Snape, who cares!" Ron said sitting down at the Gryffindor table and starting to ladle some cream of mushroom soup into his bowl.

Hermione reached over to grab a couple of sandwiches from a large platter and listened as Harry asked students around them if they had DADA yet, but no one had.

"I guess we'll be the first ones then, at least in Gryffindor," Harry assumed. 

Hermione ate talking to them about mindless matters before settling down to watch them eat. They always took longer than she did. She rifled through her bag to pull out her textbook, and realised with a panic that her wand wasn't there.

She looked up to the two of them, "I have to go back to the common room. I left my wand in the robe pocket. I'll meet you guys in the classroom." She stood up and shouted over her shoulder, "Save a seat for me!"

She walked as fast as she could without actually running knowing that if Filch caught her, he would take off points for Gryffindor. She reached the portrait and gasped out, "butterbeer". The Fat Lady swung open accordingly tsk-ing at the sight of her running inside without even a thank you. 

Hermione ran up the stairs to her room and found the damp robe on her trunk in front of the window. She reached in the pocket and pulled out her wand. _Thank goodness. I thought it might be at the bottom of the lake!_ She turned to go out again and glanced out the window. Stopping, she turned back and took a closer look. 

Her view outside consisted of the front gates of Hogwarts, and there by the shadow of the gates, wasn't that Professor Andsware? What was she doing there? She leaned forward, her nose almost touching the windowpane, and peered at the woman. She was talking to a man who had dark hair like Andsware's, but that was the only real distinctive feature Hermione could make out. She felt that she had seen that man before, but she couldn't decipher as to when or where. 

She shrugged it off figuring it was nothing of importance and went to join Harry and Ron in the classroom – assuming they had finished their lunch by now.

~***~

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A/N: You can look up Hippocampus in the Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them book. 

Omega: thanks a lot again!

MusicalRose: thanks for your sympathy on my papers ;-) I hope you enjoyed the R/Hr scenes in this chapter. Nothing obvious (like them snogging in the great hall again) but it's still there. 

Rally-as-Twiddle's: I figured both Hermione and Ron are in Gryffindor, they can do brave things! That's really interesting (your name I mean). There are so many interesting usernames out there and I'm always curious as to how they got them.

HermioneM: I hope this chapter is long enough for you! It's longer than the last one anway. Ffnet has been causing me problems too, but the past couple of days it's been working nicely. Good ffnet! Was there enough R/Hr romance to appease you in this chapter? Please say yes! lol!

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A/N: Please, please, please review! I thought this chapter was pretty good, and I hope you find it too, but I won't know unless you review! 

Shalara


	16. Goblins, prefects, and butterbeer

A/N: I'm SO sorry it took me so long to update! This past week has been a little crazy since this coming week is my last week of school before exams, and my professors have been handing out assignments left and right! Not to mention having to go to mass many times this week for Easter! Speaking of which, Happy Easter to you all! I hope you enjoy your long weekend! I made this chapter extra long for you all since it took me so long to update. I can promise you that you may have to wait another week for another chapter (sorry! But I still have these assignments to finish!) Anyway, I hope you enjoy. ****

PS: I reached the 100 mark in reviews!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!

Disclaimer: Only the plot is mine…

~***~

Hermione skidded into the classroom doorway her bookbag swinging wildly, threatening to fall off her shoulder. Lucky for her, class hadn't started yet, since Professor Andsware hadn't arrived yet. She slid into the seat beside Harry and Ron pulling out her books and quill. 

"Did you find your wand?" Harry asked her. She pulled out it out and showed it to them proudly in answer to his question.

"It was in my pocket as I guessed," Hermione stated, "and when I was leaving my room, I saw –"

But they would have to wait to hear the news as at that moment Professor Andsware swept in the classroom and started to address the class.

"Good afternoon class. As Professor Dumbledore told you, I am Professor Andsware. As Defence Against Dark Arts is, in my opinion, one of the most important courses for students to understand, I expect full concentration from you. No idle chit-chat, no dawdling. Do you understand?" She looked them all in the eye and Hermione straightened up in her seat ready to take on a new challenge. She paid no attention to Ron whispering, "Blimey, another McGonagall in Hogwarts."

Professor Andsware continued on with a hint of a smile, "Although I expect quite a bit from you in this course, I also want you to be interested in it. Any questions and comments throughout the class will be taken, and I will try my best to answer them fully."

"Do you have any questions at the moment?" she asked them in conclusion to her introduction. With no one raising his or her hand, she moved behind her desk and started with her lesson. "When you face the real world, you will find that you never work alone. Aurors work in pairs or groups, and the only time you get separated is when the situation demands it. For this reason, I am placing you in groups and I want you to figure out solutions to problems together."

She handed out a bound package of paper. "Here you will find a case study. You are to pretend to be Aurors. These sheets include vital information for you, such as the location, your mission, and your time deadline. You will read this package in class, and decide in your group what information is needed before you continue on with the information."

She finished handing the sheets out and stepped back. "You may select your own group, preferably between four and six people per group."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione huddled together and Harry asked Neville to join them to complete their group. They opened their package and began to read it silently. Their 'mission' was to stop an army of goblins from overtaking a community in a remote village in northern Australia. They would leave in one week's time and had that time to plan their strategy, pack, and ask any questions to the Head Auror for any information they need (in this case, it was Professor Andsware).

Ron looked up, "Goblins?" he said incredulously. "They don't attack us!" 

Professor Andsware overheard the comment, "Yes…" she looked down at the class roster, "Mr. Weasley. But only here and now do they not attack wizards. You know that they used to be a powerful enemy in the past from your History of Magic Class. You have to figure out what their standing is in this location now." 

Hermione and her group talked about what they knew of the wizard community in Australia. They touched upon how to defeat goblins and realised quickly that they didn't know much about them, and would have to research on the spells they could use. Before they knew it, class was over and they gathered up their books.

"Remember to research whatever missing information you have before coming to the next class," Professor Andsware reminded them as they got up from their seats. "You will get more information on this mission next class, but you need to answer the questions you have now to continue on."

"This class should be really interesting," Hermione said to her friends while walking down the hall, forgetting to tell them that she saw Professor Andsware before class.

"I was surprised by how she's teaching it, but it seems like it should be kind of fun," Harry agreed with her.

"Yeah, but I can't believe she gave us homework on the first day!" Ron grumbled.

They reached the common room and sat down in a far corner, not because they wanted the privacy, but rather that the seats by the fire were already taken. Seconds after they sat down, Fred and George came to them excitedly. 

"Guess what?" George said. They looked up at him expectantly.

"We're having a Hogsmeade trip in two weeks," Fred continued with a big grin on his face.

"What? We never have it so fast," Hermione said with a crinkling her eyebrows together watching the twins run to tell other people coming in.

"Who cares Hermione!" Ron said happily. "Now I can get some more dungbombs and sugarquills. I've been running low, you know," he told Harry.

Hermione sighed exaggeratedly. "Whatever Ron. I'll meet you two before dinner. I want to unpack." She didn't know if they listened to her as they were still going on about what they would do in Hogsmeade, and she got up and went to her room.

~***~

Hermione sat in the library looking over the notes she took in Potions class the day before. It was almost the end of the first week, and she was already getting little jitterbugs about having the O.W.L.s, even though they were ten months away. 

She looked at her watch, and realised that she should probably leave if she wanted to drop off her bag in her room before heading down for dinner. Heaving her bag over her shoulder, she got up and smiled a little on her way out to Madame Pince. The librarian did not smile back, however, she did not scowl at Hermione like she did to other students. 

She treaded down a pathway very familiar to her up to the common room. Very few students were there as most of them were on their way to the Great Hall. She quickly ran up the stairs, flung her bag on her bed and grabbed an Ever-ready-quill she bought in Flourish & Blotts (it's a quill that had ink in the stem so she wouldn't need an inkpot) and a notepad before hurrying down again. 

She saw Ginny and Colin about to leave the common and caught up with them.

"Hey Hermione!" Colin waved to her.

"Hi Colin. Are you two going down for dinner?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm _starving_," Ginny told her. The three of them walked down to the Great Hall. Hermione sat besides Ron while Ginny sat across from them besides Harry. Colin didn't find any seat available, so Hermione shuffled nearer to Ron to make room for him. 

She was glad the food came right away so she could keep her eyes on her plate. Being squished up against Ron made her blush and she didn't really need anyone looking at her. She never blushed at the touch of Ron before, but she kept thinking about his hands around her waist, and that thought made her blush even more. It took all of her self-control not to leap up from her seat and bolt out of the Great Hall.

__

"Stop it Hermione!" She admonished herself. "_It's **Ron** for goodness sake!"_ She shook her head mentally to clear her thoughts without realising that she was in actuality shaking her head physically as well.

"What's wrong Hermione?" 

She looked up into Ginny's brown eyes. "What?" she asked a little confused.

"You were shaking your head like something was bothering you," Ginny explained slowly.

"Oh, that…er, nothing really." Hermione said. Turning to Harry, she tried to switch the topic of conversation. "What do you think the prefect meeting will be about?"

She watched Harry swallow a mouthful of baked salmon. "I don't know. Probably making sure we read the package, maybe talk about Hogsmeade," Harry guessed. "I still want to know where these meetings take place!"

Hermione turned to Ron, Ginny, and Colin who were looking at them in confusion. "Maya and Kalen told all the prefects to meet them in the Entrance Hall after dinner, and they're going to lead us to the prefect's room," she tried to explain.

They talked about idle things after that. She listened amusedly, without getting involved, to Ron and Harry talk about Quidditch trials and how much of a git Snape was. Hermione noticed that some prefects were walking out of the Great Hall, and she told Harry to hurry up with his dessert. He finished it quickly and they walked out to where Maya and Kalen were standing.

~***~

Hermione looked on while Maya and Kalen counted heads to make sure everyone was there before turning around and asking the prefects to follow them. When they were in a long hallway she hadn't seen before, Harry nudged her and whispered, "This is where the prefect's bathroom is!" 

"How do you know that?" she asked quietly.

"Cedric told me, before the second task," Harry whispered back at her quickly before the Head Boy or Head Girl could catch him.

They stopped near the Boris the Bewildered statue. 

"This is one of the two prefects bathrooms. This one here is the male bathroom, while the one across from it is the female bathroom," Kalen said before separating the group. Hermione followed Maya and the other female prefects and walked into their bathroom. Hermione thought it was perfect. It was softly lit with candles, and had a very calming ambience to it, with the soft colours (cream, sage green, and pale blue) and music. There were rows of bottles and bowls full of bath salts and rose petals you could put in the tub. 

"As you can tell, this is one of the better perks to being a prefect," Maya said smiling to them. "The taps have different types of bubbles and scents you can use." She walked to a carpeted area where there were Chinese—style screens, counters with mirrors, and comfy plush seating. "Over here is where all the bathrobes, towels are. You can also find combs, lotion, and any other bath items you may need." She looked at all of them, "To get in here, the password is 'peace.'"

Hermione sighed happily and understood why that particular word was chosen as the password. She would definitely use this instead of sharing the tiny bathroom with Lavender and Parvati like she had the past four years! With a wistful glance behind, she followed Maya out the door to rejoin the boys.

Harry crept up to her side, "Nice eh?" Hermione nodded in return.

They went down further along the hallway before coming to another door that had a plaque on it with the Hogwarts crest on it. The only difference was that instead of the 'H' for Hogwarts, the letter P was embossed in the middle of the crest. 

"Prefects room. No password either," Kalen stated, laying a hand on the door.

The new prefects looked at each other confusedly. "_But everything here has a password!"_ Hermione thought.

"Only the prefects can see this room," Maya explained to them before adding, "and the Professors of course. Everyone else will see a blank wall."

They opened the door grandly, and Hermione was able to take her first look at the room. It had a circular table in the middle of the room. There were chairs that matched the colours of each house. Hermione and Harry walked to the ones that were swathed in gold and red with the rest of the Gryffindors. Maya and Kalen walked to one end of it, and sat down in their chairs that were distinctively the Head Girl and Head Boy chairs.

Hermione took notes about the Hogsmeade trip (1st and 2nd years were not allowed to go as usual), how to handle Peeves, and listened to reports from the houses' representatives regarding first years and how they're feeling as well as detentions and punishment reports. Only the prefects from Hufflepuff and the new fifth year prefects hadn't taken any points away from a student. Malfoy had already taken points away from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and was smirking to Zambini, much to Hermione's disgust.

Once the meeting was over, Hermione walked out with Harry who was still complaining that they couldn't do anything to Mrs. Norris and Filch like they could to Peeves. 

"Oh come on Harry," she said, pulling on his arm. "Forget about the cat. We have to work on our DADA project." She ignored his look of astonishment that she was asking him to work on their first Friday night. If he was giving her this look, who knows what Ron will do!

~***~

Hermione sat in her study carrel researching on how the dwarves and elves cast themselves out of existence during a Great War. There was an obscure theory that the magical properties the elves possessed were somehow transferred to humans, and through evolution, they became witches and wizards. She wasn't sure if it was a true theory, but it was interesting nonetheless, and she was absorbed in reading the library book.

She started reading about the Great War and the gory details about it when all of a sudden she felt something on her shoulder.

She leaped out of her seat in surprise with a little scream causing her seat to fall down with a crash. She turned around with a whirl facing the intruder.

It was Ron. He placed his hand on her shoulder to get her attention and now he looked as if he wished he hadn't, especially as Madame Pince was giving him a murderous look for disturbing the quiet.

"Ron! What are you doing?!" Hermione hissed trying to straighten her chair.

"Harry and I were looking for you. We're supposed to leave for Hogsmeade in 10 minutes. I didn't know you were going to go crazy on me!" Ron said defensively.

She looked at her watch and realised he was right (for once). She stuffed her notes in her bad and reached for the big history book on the table the same time Ron did. His hands brushed against hers and she jerked them back blushing.

"No!" she said furiously, hating the fact that she was blushing. Ron thought she was saying 'no' to him for trying to help her. He held up his hands in a peace gesture. "Hey, if you want to bring the book back, go ahead."

Hermione shook her head, grabbed the book, and stalked to the history shelf to return the book.

~***~

They walked together in silence. Not an uncomfortable silence since she was too mad at herself to notice and Ron was too confused to say anything to her. They met Harry at the Entrance Hall and headed out to Hogsmeade. It was a little windy and all three were glad they had their cloaks with them. 

They soon reached the village and tried to figure out where to go first.

"Let's go to Honeydukes!" Ron said licking his lips in excitement like a little three-year-old boy.

"I need to go to Gladrags," Harry said picking at the sleeve of his robe. "I forgot to go to Madame Malkin's in Diagon Alley. I grew a few inches over the summer and my robes are getting a little small."

"You have?" Ron said smiling wickedly. He stood beside Harry, still towering over him, "It doesn't _look_ like you've grown." Hermione watched Harry grin back and pretend to get into a duelling stance.

"Oh not now you two! I'm cold," Hermione shivered against the wind. "How about we go to the Three Broomsticks and get a butterbeer to warm up."

They stopped pretending to duel and agreed that they could go to their shops later after getting a drink. The three of them entered the Three Broomsticks and sat down at a table waiting for Madame Rosmerta or one of her employees to come and take their order. After a few minutes, Ron and Harry got a little impatient and went up to the bar to order their drinks. Hermione stayed at the table saving their seats and took the opportunity to people watch. 

As she expected, most customers were Hogwarts students, but there were a few who were older. She saw one man with his head on the table sleeping. She thought it was a little early herself to get so drunk herself.

"_Whoa, deja-vu!_" she thought, "_didn't this happen at the Leaky Cauldron too?" _She peered closely at the sleeping black-haired man. "_In fact, isn't that the same man?!"_

Ron and Harry came over, and handed her a butterbeer. 

She pulled on their sleeves. "Look at that man!"

They turned to where she was looking. "Yeah, so?" Ron said, taking a swig of his butterbeer. "Just a guy who's either tired or wanted a drink, or two."

"It's the same guy we saw in the Leaky Cauldron," Hermione persisted. They two boys glanced at each other not knowing who she was talking about. "Don't you think it's funny that we see the same guy?"

"Maybe he likes his butterbeer Hermione," Ron said shrugging the matter off. 

"Fine Ron," she said sharply and decided to drink her butterbeer rather than argue with him. She was more than annoyed with him and downed her drink before her friends finished even a quarter of theirs. 

"Wow Hermione!" Ron exclaimed in admiration looking at her empty glass. 

She knew Harry was looking at her curiously, but she ignored his look and sat fiddling with her glass. Madame Rosmerta came over seeing her empty glass.

"Would you like another one, dear?" 

Hermione was about to say no, but realised how long she'd have to wait for Harry and Ron to finish their drinks, and so she said yes. A few minutes later, a full pint of butterbeer was placed in front of her. She took a sip slowly, already feeling warm and fuzzy from the effects of the first one. 

She didn't pay much attention to the conversation and played with the condensation beads on her glass. The three finally finished their drinks and Hermione got up from the table with them. She threw her cloak on her shoulders and headed out following Ron. As she turned slightly to keep her cloak from catching on the edges of chairs, she noticed that the sleeping man was no longer sleeping but had his head slightly raised and was staring right at her. She stared back her hands slightly trembling. The way that man looked at her! It was more than a little frightening…as if he was trying to see right into her soul and suck it up.

"Hermione?"

She turned around and saw Ron holding the door for her and Harry waiting for them outside. 

"I'm coming." She glanced once more at the man who looked at her so hauntingly with those mesmerising black eyes, but his head was on the table once more and he was sleeping.

"_No more butterbeer for you Hermione Granger,_" she admonished herself, shaking her head and exiting the Three Broomsticks. 

~***~

The three of them went to Zonkos and then to Gladrags so Harry could buy some robes. Ron wanted Harry to buy bright orange robes, "in support of Chudley Cannons, you know." Harry decided to stick with the basic black though. Ron and Hermione left Harry at the store to be fitted for his robes while they went to Honeydukes so they could stock up on their candy supply. They agreed that they would meet up later in the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione watched Ron debate over what he should buy amusedly. She had her favourites and bought a few of each, including Fire Hot Dragons and Ice Angels. She especially liked the Ice Angels as after you suck on the, your teeth sparkle with ice crystals and you get tiny little icicles hanging from your teeth. The Fire Hot Dragons were in the shape of little red dragons that burst with flavour when you bit into them, similar to the Hot Tamales candies she was so fond of when she was little.

She leaned against a counter waiting for Ron to hurry up and after a few agonising minutes – for him – he finally decided what he would buy. He came to her happily, and stuffed his bulging bag of treats in his robes. 

They left the shop and headed down the pathway towards Hogwarts. What was a brisk wind in the morning turned out to be a raging windstorm now. She clutched onto Ron's arm and keeping her head down walked directly into the wind. 

Her hair whipped viciously into her unprotected face and the wind seemed to keep trying to lead her off the pathway. She felt her eyes starting to water as dust particles stung her eyes.

"Come on Hermione!" Ron shouted and pulled her along attempting to go faster.

She complied but after a few steps, she felt her foot catch in a rabbit hole, and down she went. Bracing herself for the fall she knew was to come, she held out her arms in front of her instinctively to take the brunt of the injury. It never came though. 

She felt one arm on her back snaking around to grab her waist, and another arm enclosing the front from one forearm to another. 

She straightened herself and looked up at him. "Thanks."

"No problem, but no more butterbeer for you!" he teased grinning at her. She laughed alongside him, and they continued running to Hogwarts, but his time, her hand was in his and she didn't pull away.

~***~

A/N: So what did you think? I won't know unless you review! ****

And here are some replies to your previous reviews:

Bluetreeleaves: That sucks to be grounded. I've been supremely lucky that my parents never believed in grounding their kids, so I've never been grounded. So, was your computer whiz sister able to help you?

Omega: Thank you! Hopefully you'll say the same with this chapter…

MusicalRose: Thanks for your help. I changed Hagrid's speech as soon as I read your review!

Vy (first review): I had to look up the name for the 3-legged window-moving thing on the 'net! It's amazing what you can find on there! As for Draco, I know Rowling said he won't come to the good side (I think she said that at least), so I wonder what's going to happen to him. 

Vy (second review): I think Voldie's hair is black because Riddle's hair was black (he looked like Harry right), however my mysterious visitor is not Voldie, or Snape, or the future Harry (although I liked the last idea a lot!)

FictionHobbit: me too! Actually, I take that back, no I don't. Guys are confusing one at a time, I couldn't handle it if there was more than one! ;-)

FictionHobbit (part 2): They do rule! Glad you enjoyed it!

Rally-as-Twiddle's: Thanks! On both accounts (chapter and name). Shalara. Well, the first sci-fi books I ever read were by an author called David Eddings (the books were in a series called the Belgariad). There were three characters' (females) names I liked: Ce'nedra, Ariana, and Polgara (I swear I'll name one of my future daughters one of these names!). I have a friend named Shalene, but I always call her Shal. So I took Polgara and Shal, squished them together, and ta-da! came up with Shalara!

HermioneM: Glad you liked it!

Angel Solo: You were my 100th reviewer! I dedicate this chapter to you! Thanks for the compliments, I don't deserve them, but I'll take them! lol!

Madison: You finish your exams, I'm about to start mine. Luckily mine are spaced out, so I should probably be able to update 1 chapter, or maybe 2 short ones, before finishing them up. Although, I haven't made up my study schedule yet, so who knows? Good for you for doing well on your exams; I don't know if I could go for 2 weeks without check my email…lol!

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A/N: Thanks again for all your reviews! I really adore reading them, so keep 'em coming!

Shalara 


	17. not a chapter - sorry

Sorry folks, this is not an update.  Please don't flame me for this!

I actually did have a chapter in progress, but last week my computer went kaput.  It was brand new too (2 1/2 months old)!  For anyone planning to buy a computer, I don't recommend Windows xp; stick with 98 or 2000.

Anyway, I have one more exam on Friday, and then I'm all yours!  I'll use my brother's computer to upload any chapters until IBM fixes my computer (thanks goodness for that warranty!)

So, I'm really sorry for taking so long in uploading, but I'll have **2** chapters waiting for you next week - promise!!!

Thanks for all your reviews!

Shalara

~***~


	18. Malfoy, Snape, and quidditch

**A/N:  Okay, I am SO sorry I didn't do my two chapters this week!  The technician will be coming to my house on Tuesday and he'll fix my computer.  Right now I'm using my brother's old (and not very good) computer, which he is always on.  Anyway, I'm sure you don't want to hear my ramblings, so onwards ho!**

**Disclaimer:  None of this is mine!  So there! ;-)**

~***~

Hermione sat at a far table in the common room tapping the end of her quill against her cheek as she read a library book on the wizard community in Dyra, the village where the case study for DADA was taking place.  She finished a chapter, took some notes on the parchment beside her and looked up.  Her partners were all at the same table each working with a different book.  

Everyone had their own part:  Ron was to research on goblin tactics commonly used, Harry was to look up spells that could be used to prevent the goblins from coming any further, and Neville was to compile all the basic information that they had (for example, how much time they had, how many goblins there were, what weapons they had, what time frame were they in, etc.).  

She smiled slightly to herself.  This was the first time that she didn't have to pressure her best friends to do some homework.  Not to say that they didn't put up some resistance, but not as much as they usually do.  

She noticed that Ron was frowning at his book, his quill stopping midway down to his parchment of notes.

"What's wrong Ron?" she asked.  He looked up alongside of Harry's and Neville's curious glances.

"hmm…oh, nothing really.  These goblins do some nasty things when they're angry though," Ron replied.  "Like hanging enemies upside down on tree branches until they give them answers to their questions or until they die."

Hermione heard a little squeak that came from Neville's corner and gave a little smile of reassurance in his direction.

"Don't worry Neville," Harry said in turn, "we can use _Untiro_ to undo the knots and fall to the ground."

"And fall to the ground on our heads?" Hermione asked sarcastically.  

"Ummm, yeah, I'm still working on that," he mumbled back, fidgeting with his glasses.

Hermione went back to her book on Dyra.  It was a fascinating village, very similar to Hogsmeade in fact in that it is the only non-muggle village in Australia.  She kept working completely focused on the landscape and citizens of Dyra until she heard a loud rumbling in front of her. 

"Sorry," Ron said with his face turning bright red.  Harry and Neville started laughing openly at him.  "Hey, it is dinnertime, and I'm a growing boy, unlike some I know," he said defensively giving a smirk to Harry.

Hermione glanced around and realised that there were only a couple of Gryffindors left in the common room, and that they were heading out of the portrait hole too.  She packed her books quickly and walked with her group to the Great Hall, once she managed to stop Harry and Ron from their mock wrestling fight.

As they walked down the marble stairs, they saw three shadows moving up from the dungeons.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the four Musketeers," came a sneering voice from the shadows.  Hermione sighed.  It wasn't too hard to guess who it was.

"Although, Potter, I wouldn't have picked Longbottom to join your group.  It should be called the Mouseketeers," he said giving a cold look to Neville.  His two goons, Crabbe and Goyle chuckled, but Hermione could see the confused look in their eyes.

She steeped in front of Neville, "I'm surprised you would have read a book that was written by a muggle," she retorted.

He narrowed his eyes at her, "I study my enemies, _mudblood_."

Harry, who had been holding Ron back the entire time, almost let him go to get his wand out.  Hermione beat him to it, and pointed her wand at Malfoy.  

"Miss Granger!" Professor Andsware came sweeping down the staircase, her eyes cold and her hair flying behind her.

Hermione caught the smirk Malfoy gave to her and watched as he put on a grotesque display on how she threatened him.

"It's all because she knows I'm a pureblood, Professor.  She's been jealous of it ever since first year," he said with wide-open eyes.

Hermione regained her voice, "Professor, please.  I never -"

Professor Andsware raised her hand to stop her.  "No need Miss Granger.  I witnessed the entire thing from above."  She turned slowly towards Malfoy and gave him a steely gaze until he broke the eye contact and looked down.

"Twenty points from Slytherin for calling your classmates names," she said.  She turned to Goyle and Crabbe, "As for you two, 10 points each will be taken away from Slytherin."

"They didn't do anything," Malfoy yelled outraged, while his housemates looked on.

"Exactly, Mr. Malfoy.  True housemates would have stopped you from making such a disgrace to your house and name."  

Professor Andsware turned to Hermione and her friends who were standing by anxiously.  "As for you four -" they held their breath - "I give you 5 points each for not reducing yourselves to a name-calling level."

Hermione grinned at Harry and Neville while Ron was smirking at Malfoy.  Malfoy turned to go back to the dungeons with Crabbe and Goyle when Professor Andsware stopped him once more.

"Mr. Malfoy, I don't believe I gave you permission to leave just yet."

Hermione watched Malfoy turn when she saw another shape emerge from the dungeons.  _"Oh no, why did he have to come now?"_

"Is there a problem Professor Andsware?" Snape asked as he stood beside Draco.

Hermione watched, as she looked him in the eye; they were almost the same height.  "Not at all, Professor Snape.  I was just about to let Mr. Malfoy know that he will be having a detention tomorrow night, and that I expect him to be at my office at 8 pm," Andsware replied calmly.  

Hermione didn't know how Andsware could do that without a touch of nerves.  She was already trembling, and Snape wasn't even looking at her!

"I'm sure there must have been some mistake Professor Andsware.  Mr. Malfoy is a model student and I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Potter hadn't done something to incriminate Mr. Malfoy," Snape said softly.

"There is no mistake Professor Snape, especially when a student lies to me," she told him, not backing down.

"Well, then, I'll assign Mr. Malfoy's detention, as I'm his Head of House.  Thank you for bringing this to my attention." Snape nodded his head an inch, bringing the conversation to a close and laying a hand to lead Malfoy away.

Professor Andsware cleared her throat.  Snape threw her a clearly irritated glance.  "What?"

"I respect that you are his Head of House, but as he lied to _me_, I will assign his detention.  Thank you for your consideration though."  She looked him in the eye, and Hermione knew it to be a challenging gaze, even if she had never seen one.  Of course she had, as she often possesses that gaze herself.

Hermione watched Snape's eyes grow troubled, and Professor Andsware took that to be agreement.  "Very well, Mr. Malfoy.  8 pm tomorrow in my office please."  And with that, she strode into the Great Hall with Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Neville following in awe, leaving the Slytherins behind.

The four of them ran to their table and almost crashed into the people sitting behind them because they were laughing so hard.  

"What took you guys so long?  You almost missed dinner," Dean said, his mouth full of food.

"You won't believe it," Ron gasped.

"It was the funniest thing," Harry continued holding his hands to his stomach because he was laughing so hard.  

"Almost as good as Draco turning into a ferret," Hermione said emphatically, reaching for the pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"What???" shouted everyone near them because they were causing so much attention.

"Professor Andsware gave detention to Malfoy," Neville said with a smile on his face, "And she told off Snape too."

Fred, George, and Lee leaned over from a couple of seats over, "Seriously?  How'd ol' Snapey boy take it?"

"He was livid!  He wanted to issue Malfoy's detention, which of course there wouldn't be one if he had his way.  But Andsware said that since Malfoy _lied_ to her, she was giving him the detention," Ron told everyone happily, having a dreamy look on his face as he remembered the scene.

Angelina gave a low whistle.  "Malfoy lied to a professor?  No wonder she wanted to give him a detention."

"And on top of that, we got 20 points because we didn't fight Malfoy," Harry said grinning at everyone, "while Slytherin got 40 points taken away, meaning Gryffindor is in lead for house points."

Hermione laughed as everyone high-fived each other.  Ron leaned back into his chair, looked up to the ceiling (which portrayed a grey overcast and a continuous drizzle), and remarked to no one in particular, "Isn't it a beautiful day."

~***~

A week had passed by before the story of Snape being overrun by Andsware started to die down, and that was only because the Gryffindor tryouts were starting.  Hermione didn't really care all that much, but she couldn't help notice how nervous Ron was.  All week long he was reading every Quidditch book that was published.  Only the Keeper position was free as everyone else had one more year to go.  Angeline, Katie, Alicia, Fred, George, and Harry had decided that since the Beater positions and one Chaser position would be empty next year, they would have backup positions this year to train them.  

Hermione knew that Ron wanted the Keeper position; it was what he always played with his brothers when he was growing up.  She didn't want to go to the tryouts, but Ron kept begging her to lay down the books and come and see it all until she reluctantly agreed.

The three of them trooped out of Hogwarts on a bright sunny day.  Harry and Hermione were laughing over some silly story about Dudley.  Ron looked a little green and he kept muttering to himself, "Eyes on the Quaffle.  Eyes on the Quaffle."

Hermione laid her hand on his arm, "Don't worry Ron.  I'm sure you'll do fine."  She watched in amazement as Ron's face became mottled with interchanging colours of red and green.  She quickly withdrew her hand and wonder if he was about to retch in Hagrid's prize daffodils.  Luckily, he composed himself, managed a weak smile and muttered to himself once again.

Hermione left her friends on the field, while she clambered up the stands.  She watched as the Gryffindors who wanted to be Chasers were timed as they went around a difficult course and the Beaters-to-be practiced hitting moving targets, whiled Fred and George marked down their accuracy.  It turned out that Ginny seemed to be a competent Chaser, while a third year student named Daniel Freebush was a skilled Beater.  

Finally the Keeper position was tried out.  Those who were trying out for other positions were placed in teams with Keepers for each.  The top three Keepers (ie, with the best save percentage) would then be tried against Angelina, Alicia, and Katie.  

Hermione didn't pay much attention to the other Keepers, but gave a supporting shout when Ron was finally called up.  Dennis was to be the Keeper on the other team.  

Hermione grimaced as in the first few shots Ron let an easy goal in.  She watched as Ron led his broom in a frustrated loop before settling down again.  "Come on Ron!" she shouted.

He seemed to have calmed his nerves because he let no goals in after.  Dennis let in almost every goal because he was so small that he could stretch out his arms far enough to save anything.

The final three contenders were Ron, Dean, and Trevor (a fourth year student).  The three drew lots.  Dean was first and Ron was going last.  Hermione watched anxiously as Dean guarded the goals from the three girls swooping in before him. After 10 minutes, a bell rang and Trevor took his place. Trevor did better than Dean, but Hermione knew there was some room above.  

When Ron was called to try, Hermione stood up to get a better view.  The girls set out, Angelina holding the quaffle on the right side.  Ron moved to block her when she passed it cross-field to Katie who had an open goal.  Hermione groaned.  She knew Ron was beating himself up over this, and she only hoped he would compose himself.

It turned out that he did.  After that one goal, neither Angeline, Katie, or Alicia were scoring.  After the 10 minute bell, the team, Ron, Trevor, and Dean were all up in the air.  

"As the oldest, and because we don't have a captain yet, I would like to congratulate Ron Weasley as being our new Keeper!" Angelina announced with a broad smile on her face.

Hermione started clapping and shouting, but not as much as Ron was.  He started doing loops in the air and flew towards her.  He jumped off his broom in front of her lost his balance and fell on top of her.

They were both laughing hard, and she could hear the team on the field laughing too.  She looked up with a smile, "Congratulations Mr. Weasley."  He looked down, his eyes dancing.  "Why thank you Miss. Granger."  She watched, as if in slow motion, as his head came down lower and she closed her eyes at the last minute.  She felt his lips on hers.  Briefly, softly, yet sweetly.  She raised her eyelids and felt his eyes on hers.  "Thank you very much Hermione," he said softly before raising himself and extending a hand to her.  She took his hand, and for the first time that she could remember, it was _her _face that was flaming red, and not his.  And she watched as Harry, Fred, and George swept down upon them to congratulate Ron as well.

~***~

**A/N:  Okay, I have quite a bit of reviews to do, so…**

Bluetreeleaves:  I hope your chapter is fixed now!  I would love to read it.  Sorry I didn't update fast for you…  My bad.

Omega:  thanks!

MusicalRose: of course I went back and changed it!  I really do read your reviews after all!  You reviewers are too smart for me!  I swear!  I thought of the DADA homework because that was similar to what I had to do in one of my classes this term.  I'm glad you liked it!

Adaren:  That's so nice of you!  I love stories that you just don't want to put down.  I can't believe my story is one of them though!  Hope you liked this chapter!

Snowgrl:  sorry I didn't update for a long time!  I'll be better!

Molly:  don't worry, just because they kissed doesn't mean it'll be hunky-dorey!

Kori Bischoff:  glad you liked it!  I thought it was cute.

Madison:  thanks!  I've only found one of my marks (tied for highest - yea me!! ;-))  anyway, I hope this was better than the last one for you!

Tamashii87:  wow, I bet word would not like that run-on sentence!  Thanks for the compliment though!

HermioneM:  krum will be in soon, especially now that ron's on the quidditch team!

Pam:  thank you!!

Rally-as-Twiddle's:  I love names from books.  It's amazing how much creativity and talent authors have!

Jelsemium (Jill W.):  thanks so much.  I hope you read the rest of the story soon!  I mean, you might have, but I don't know.

Roisin:  Thank yyyyyoooooooouuuuuuuu!  You're funny!  What are GCSE's?  We don't have those here in Vancouver.  

I am a guy also:  (1)Whoa!  Okay, first off, sorry.   Totally did not mean to offend anybody out there.  I should also let you know, that I wrote you an email when I first read this review, but your inbox was full and it got sent back.  What I wrote was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing because it had just happened at that time.  When I wrote, "guys suck", I did not mean ALL guys suck, because some of my closest friends are guys.  As I wrote in that email, if you want, I will take those comments I made down ff.net.  I apologise whole -heartedly once again.

I don't know if I'll do H/G relationships but you never know.

As for the hockey, definitely ice hockey!  (although, my Vancouver Canucks just lost the playoff series to Detroit).  I never liked field hockey because I thought it was ridiculous that I couldn't hit the ball on the rounded end of the field hockey stick!

(2) I know he was 18 in book 4, but I didn't know how else to get him in my story!  Oh well…

(3) thanks, and me too!  I should find out in a week or so.

Vy:  thank you!  I still can't believe I'm in the 3-digit category!  I wish I had a bathroom like that too.  Mine's all soft rose/pink (mom decorated it) - lol!  You'll find out more about the mysterious guy in the next chapter.

Kayla:  I agreed, so hopefully you like this one!

Anne-girl:  thanks!  You know, your story is REALLY hard to find!

La La girl:  ha ha!  My first flame.  I think.  I knew it would come sooner or later.  Except, you said I was a good author, and that you just don't like HP.  Ah well, each to his or her own.

Goddessnb1:  (1)  thanks.  I don't like being mean to anyone, even guys who are slightly weird in my opinion.  Oh well, I don't even think of him anymore, so it definitely does not bug me.

(2) I'm assuming you're talking about hermione?  I agree with you.  I would have!

(3) lol!  Yes, Ron and Hermione are taking their sweet time, but I must admit, I'm the same way.  It drives my friends crazy!  Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't updated in such a long time!

Rosie Weasley:  sorry!!!!!!

Bluetreeleaves:  what's a TAAS test?  Sorry about your story.  I really would have liked to read it!  I haven't read Ella Enchanted, but maybe I will!

Madison:  I hope I get my comp fixed soon too.  This Tuesday it should be done.  Hopefully.  

I am a guy also:  I agree!  Xp is causing problems, but the HD was bad too.  I should have stuck will Dell, but I didn't.

Elanor:  Wow!  I'm so surprised!  Thank you!  I'll check out the group site soon!

Punkpixie87:  cute name!  Anyway, here's some more, just like you wished!

Jiki Arosakka:  Are you Japanese?  I'm guessing by your name, but I'm probably wrong.  Thanks for your comments though, it was really nice of you to say that.  Anyway, I should be writing more soon now that exams are over and my computer will be fixed soon.

**A/N:  Whew!  I think the reviews are longer than the chapter itself!  Anyway, expect more next week when my computer gets fixed.  I hope!!!**

**Shalara.**

  
  



	19. Klutzes and tears

****

A/N: I'm back! Sorry I'm late. Things were a little hectic as my parents just left to go on a cruise to Alaska, and my dad's brother and his wife came up from Texas to join them. Unfortunately, that meant that my mother came up with a whole lot of housecleaning chores for me to do. The good news is, my computer is finally fixed! The bad news is my hockey team (the Vancouver Canucks) is out of the running for the Stanley Cup. Oh well, at least on Canadian team (the Toronto Maple Leafs) is still in the playoffs.

Disclaimer: None of this is mine, but that's okay, because for the next week the house is mine and the sun is shining!

~***~

Hermione stood beside Ron watching the boys and the rest of the team swoop down to where they were standing. Her mind was reeling. Did Ron just kiss her? _Again?_ She didn't have any urges to throttle him like the last time, however, she was a little stunned. 

Her eyes followed Harry's, Fred's, and George's movements as they landed lightly in front of her, before clapping their hands on Ron's shoulders in congratulations. 

"Nice landing little bro," George said to Ron, elbowing him in the ribs. Fred said something in addition, but Hermione paid no attention and her eyes widened at the thought of them seeing her being kissed. 

She opened her mouth to intervene, protest, or do _something_, but all she let out was a little squeak, which no one heard anyway. 

"You have good skills as a Keeper, but we may need to work on your landing skills Ron," Angelina said teasingly.

Hermione realised that no one was paying any attention to her at all. "They must not have seen us as the seats partially blocked their view," she thought in relief. 

"So do we get to have our first practice now?" Ron asked eagerly, brandishing his broom 

"Not yet," Harry laughed. "You would think you'd be slightly tired either way!" 

"We still have to decide who's going to be Captain, Ron," Fred explained. "We haven't had on since Oliver left."

"And what a sad occasion that was," George said, pretending to wipe away a tear from his eye. The team laughed with shouts being interjected such as, "Yeah, no more 6 am practices. Gee, I miss those."

"All right, all right, calm down. How do we want to do this?" Angelina asked, looking around. 

Hermione stepped a couple of paces back and just watched them unnoticed.

"Don't look at us," Fred and George held their hands up as if to ward them off. "You know we wouldn't be good for the team as captain."

She watched as the team stared at each other trying to figure out whom to pick.

"I think Angelina should be captain," Harry said finally.

"What? Oh, but I was thinking that you should be Captain, Harry," Angelina replied earnestly.

"No, not right now," Harry said with a look in his eye that Hermione didn't like. "I'm not ready to lead anyone right now."

No one said anything, and Hermione knew Harry was thinking about Cedric again. She decided that she and Ron would have to do something, otherwise Harry will be feeling guilty all his life.

Soon after, they agreed that Angelina would be the Captain and Fred and George ran off saying there would be a Gryffindor party that evening. Hermione rolled her eyes thanking her lucky stars that they were graduating this year, although, she had to admit that the idea of a party would be a little fun, _if_ it didn't get carried away. Of course, it will get carried away since Fred and George Weasley were there.

Soon after, only the three of them were left on the stands. Ron and Harry started talking about Quidditch and she just focused as to where her feet were going. She supposed she should get used to this, as their conversation will probably be more like this since both of them were on the Quidditch team. 

Hermione waited in the common room allowing the boys to change and get ready for lunch. Luckily not many people were there since it was a Saturday and it was sunny too so she managed to get a comfy chair near a window. Placing her elbow on the armchair, she laid her chin in her hand and looked pensively outside. It was one of those days where she wished she had an older sister, or even her mother there beside her. 

Her eyes drifted down when she noticed a shadow alongside her chair. She jumped slightly before realising it was only Ron.

"Ron! Stop sneaking up on me!" she gasped, holding her hand against her rapidly beating heart.

"Well, sorry, but I did stomp down the stairs and I thought you would have noticed," Ron protested, flopping down onto a chair nearby.

"Where's Harry?"

"Still up there. He's trying to control his hair, and the mirror's giving him a hard time for it," Ron said grinning evilly.

Hermione placed a hand against her mouth stifling the laughter that was trying to escape. Her face sobered up a few moments later though. 

"I'm surprised he didn't want to be captain," Ron mused, looking out the window as she was not too long ago.

"Yeah, me too. I think Angelina will be good as Captain, but Harry needs to start trusting himself again." She sighed, before catching the sound of footsteps coming down from the boys' tower.

"Shhh, he's coming," she said in a low voice.

"Oh sure, you notice him coming down, but not me, eh?" Ron replied with a mock look of being appalled.

"Ha ha," she said, sticking her tongue out at him and making a face.

"Real mature Hermione. I haven't seen you pull a face like that for a long time now," Harry said laughing as he came to their side.

"You boys bring out the worst in me," Hermione said haughtily, pulling herself out of her chair and heading out of the common room. She turned just as they saw them high five each other.

"All right!" 

"We're doing our job properly Ron," Harry said earnestly.

"Honestly! You two are just as bad as Fred and George sometimes," she told them, not being able to hold the smile that was forming on her face.

"Who, li'l ol' us?" Ron asked innocently.

"Out!" And she opened the portrait hole, pointing for them to get out. Of course as soon as they did so, they pulled her along and the three of them started laughing and talking as they usually do. 

When they were near the Great Hall, Hermione felt Ron's hand brush near hers. She watched in slow motion as his hand moved towards hers again. She quickly stuffed her hands in her robe's pockets, not even realising she was doing so, until it was already done.

Harry was oblivious to what was going on, or at least he was pretending to, but she couldn't avoid the hurtful look on Ron's face. 

"_Just keep moving to the table_," she kept telling herself, willing herself to place her feet in front of her. Amazingly enough, she did so, for a few steps only until she bumped into someone.

Barely catching herself, she laughed a little laugh. 

"_Real graceful Hermione_," she said with a shake of her head. She brushed off a few specks of lint and dust on her robe. "Sorry about that." Looking up she realised it was Viktor she bumped into. His friends from Ravenclaw were around him and looking at her appraisingly.

"_Probably thinking I'm the biggest klutz, which I am_," she admonished herself, shaking her head again.

"Are you okay Herm-own-ninny?" he asked with concern watching her shake her head for no apparent reason.

Hermione blushed a little, and hated herself for it. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that again."

She watched as a smile grew on his face. "No problem. You can bump into me anytime," he told her jokingly.

Rolling her eyes, "Thanks for the offer Viktor, but hopefully I won't need to all that often."

But instead of seeing him smile, she watched his pale blue eyes darken and his smile turn into a scowl. She looked up at him more than a little confused as to why his mood changed all of a sudden. Turning her head slightly behind her, she saw with a sinking heart that Ron was at the entrance of the Great Hall, and he looked furious.

Hermione turned around to face Ron squarely, but he wasn't even looking at her. She watched as he took a few steps closer.

"Viktor" Ron acknowledged coldly.

"Hello Ron," Viktor replied. When Ron didn't say anything, Viktor continued, "I hear you haf been chosen as the new Keeper."

Nothing. 

Hermione groaned.

"Umm, congratulations. I vas asked to be the new Seeker for Ravenclaw," Viktor continued, trying to lower the tension.

Harry's mouth dropped. Fred and George ran to tell Angelina.

The Ravenclaws around Viktor smirked at the Gryffindors.

Ron just stood there.

Hermione moved out of her trance. "Oh, congratulations Viktor. I'm sure –" 

"We'll see how good of a team you are," Ron interrupted. He moved until he was right against Viktor's face. "Third game of the season is Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, and I'm looking forward to it."

He turned on his heel and walked to the Gryffindor table. Harry and Hermione stood there looking at Viktor and the other Ravenclaws.

Hermione made eye contact with Viktor, "I'm so sorry. I…" She didn't really know what to say and just ended up shrugging her shoulders apologetically.

"It's not your fault Herm-own-ninny," he replied.

"We should really go and, you know," Harry said, nodding his head towards Ron.

She nodded, smiled a little smile at Viktor, and followed Harry to the Gryffindor table leaving Viktor with his housemates.

~***~

It had been a week, and still Hermione and Ron refused to talk. She tried talking to him as soon as that stupid confrontation took place, but he refused to talk to her. In fact, as soon as she sat down, he stood up and stomped out of the Great Hall. Later on, he accused her of fraternising with the enemy, or something like that. Since then, neither of them spoke to each other, and she was perfectly happy with the situation. 

Working on their DADA assignment was a little awkward for Harry and Neville, since they were now the unofficial communicators of the group. The four of them tried working together, but the strain grew too much, and Ron walked out of the common room and to the library. After that meeting, Neville or Harry would work with one of them, and the two of them would later meet and share the information. 

This was fine with Hermione. If Ron wanted to act like a git, so be it. She was in the library on a rainy Saturday morning with Neville researching the project. What had seemed to be so much fun for her partners was turning out to be more work than they expected. They spent more time on the DADA project than even Potions or Transfiguration. It seemed that no matter what answers they came up with, Professor Andsware would throw a curve ball at them in their next class, and they all had to trudge back up to the library to figure out the new information given to them. 

This was the stage that Neville and her were at. Neville was having a hard time with it all. Professor Andsware scared him more than McGonagall, but less than Snape. When asked why, considering Andsware saved them from Snape, he answered, "Exactly! If she can do that to Snape, who knows _what_ she can do!"

The problem with the new information was that it disputed the theories that the group came up with. It was leaving Hermione very cranky and disgruntled with it all.

The two of them were sitting at a table in the international section of the library and she was pouring over books trying to come up with some defensive strategies her Australian wizards could use. It was very hard because the people in the pictures would never move to where she wanted them to go to. They always ended up on the coast lying in the sand trying to soak up the sun.

Pushed to her limit, she slammed the book shut and reached for the book about the town specifically. It was pretty quaint, but nice all the same. She flipped the page to their holidays and local celebrations and saw a photo of a country fair. There was a farmer's market in one end, an area for children in another, and even a butterbeer garden. She shuddered a little, recalling her last experience with butterbeer. She was about to flip the page when something caught her eye. Bringing her face down to the point where her nose almost brushed against the book she peered closely at the wizards and witches sitting in the butterbeer garden. Some of them started turning towards her and making faces but one stood out on his own. 

She grabbed the book and leapt out of her seat.

"Where are you going?" Neville asked from where he was sitting.

Hermione waved her hand dismissively at him and ran out of the library after signing it out to a disapproving Madam Pince. She sprinted down the corridors until she panted the password to the portrait and pushed her way in without even a 'thank you'.

She spotted Ron and Harry at a table working on their parts and skidded to them dropping the book in the middle of them.

"Look!" 

"Hermione? What's going on?" Harry asked confusedly.

"Just look!" she insisted.

She watched impatiently as they looked at the picture of the town's carnival. 

"So?" Ron asked. "A bunch of people having a good time, big deal. They're having more fun than we are." He added sourly.

"No you prat, look at this guy." She pointed towards the man off to the side.

"Uh _huh_. What about him?" Ron asked raising his eyebrows.

"He's the guy I saw at the Leaky Cauldron and at the Three Broomsticks!" she announced excitedly, flopping into the seat across from them.

"How can you tell Hermione? It's not a very good picture," Harry said peering into the book once more.

"Here's where it gets interesting," she lowered her voice conspiratorially, and leaned forward over the table. "Remember that man I saw with Andsware on the first day of classes?"

She looked at two blank faces facing her. "Oh come on! I told you guys. The one I saw from my window?"

"Errr, I don't think you told us Hermione," Harry said, shrugging his shoulders at Ron.

"Of course I did! I told you just before DADA class…" she paused. "Oh, maybe I didn't, now that I think of it." She frowned a little before shrugging it off. "I forgot my wand and ran back to my room, and I saw Andsware and a man near the bushes by the front gates before our class."

"Yeah, so? Maybe it was a messenger," Ron reasoned.

"No, it's him!" she stated, jabbing a finger in the photo, causing the inhabitants to scatter around like ants.

"Hermione," Harry said slowly, "how could you tell? The gates are far away from your window. It may not be this guy."

"Maybe not," she conceded, "but I'm sure it is! I remembered the profile, and when I glanced at his picture I knew it was him. And then I looked closer, and I saw that this was the same guy at the bar."

Ron finally took a closer look at the picture, "Okay, this could _possibly_ be the guy we saw at the Three Broomsticks." He ignored the glare given by her at the word 'possibly', "I still don't see how this concerns any of us."

Hermione leaned back in her chair and looked incredulously at her two friends. "I can't believe you two! You both who have managed to get into trouble since we started this school," they both shifted guiltily in their seats, "now think you shouldn't get into something that sounds too close to be called coincidental?! Hah!"

"Well, what do you want us to do? We don't know who this guy is, or even if this is the same guy that talked to Andsware. We don't know his name, why he's here, nothing," Harry reasoned with her.

"Fine, if you two don't want to do anything, go ahead. I'll figure it out," Hermione said in a huff, grabbing the book and walking quickly to the girls' tower so that the boys wouldn't see the tears in her eyes.

She had just reached her door, and hoped that Lavendar and Parvati weren't in there, else they would never leave her alone.

She just started to open up the door, when she felt a hand on her arm. Turning around she saw Ron standing there like a lost little puppy, shifting from one foot to another.

She watched him struggle with whatever he wanted to say. She didn't say a word. She wanted to, but she figured that he after her for a reason.

"You really think this guy is the same?" he finally asked, pointing with his chin to the book still in her free hand.

She nodded silently.

"And you really think he's important enough for us to research him?" 

She glanced down, "I don't know Ron." Looking up at him she continues, "It just seems a little strange. We see this guy at Diagon Alley, Andsware comes to Hogwarts, I see them talking, and we see him again at Hogsmeade. There's something there that just keeps telling me not to dismiss this right away." She shakes her head ruefully, "I can't really explain it."

Hermione stood there and watched him place his hands in his pockets and sigh.

"Okay Hermione, Harry and I have learned not to ignore your gut feelings, or your intellect," he smiled a little, "we'll help you with this."

"Thanks Ron," giving him a smile in return, "I really do appreciate it." She started to turn back into her room when he called out to her one more time.

"Hermione, why don't you want to go out with me?"

She froze and turned around slowly. "I never said I didn't want to go out with you," she protested.

"You never said you wanted to," he replied pointedly.

She couldn't really reply to that. "It's not that I don't or do want to go out with you, but, do you really think we're ready?" Seeing as he was about to answer, she interjected hurriedly, "No really Ron. Everytime you see me even talk to Viktor you go ballistic on me. I can't do that anymore. You can't do that anymore."

"I don't trust him Hermione," he growled.

"He's a really nice guy Ron. You liked him so much before last year, and I hope you can like him now," she pleaded.

He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning. "Why can't you trust my gut instincts? How come I'm supposed to trust your instincts, and you won't trust mine?" he yelled, his face going a dark angry red.

"Because you're wrong!" she shouted, tears finally falling freely. "And you'll never admit it when you are!"

"Fine Hermione. If Viktor's so great, why don't you go and date him!" he shouted turning to head down the stairs.

"Maybe I will!" she shouted back before slamming her bedroom door behind her. She fell into her bed and cried until she fell asleep tormented by dreams of the dark stranger and Ron.

~***~

A/N: Okay, so that was a slightly depressing ending. Sorry. Okay, maybe I'm not all that sorry! 

Geneviève: I never even thought about Trevor the frog. Trevor was one of my favourite guy's name a few years ago, so I just used that! 

Punkpixie87: yeah, sorry it's taken me a long time to write this, but what can you do? Thanks for the compliment though!

Magicalmischiefmaker: My grammar mistakes. I must admit for chapter 18 I never went back to check for grammar mistakes. I just wrote it, and uploaded. Whoops! It's funny that you wrote "you have a firm [grasp] on your plot", because that was one of the major issues I had with my chapter. It seemed my plot was flailing about, and I needed to sit down and think about what I was writing. I'm glad my 'flailing plot' wasn't obvious though! As for the conservative style, as I said numerous times, essays are not my forté. I'm a science girl, so this is a lot harder for me than for other people. 

Diagon Alley's website is http://home.nyu.edu/~amw243/ . I had never heard of Schnoogle, but found Lori & Cassandra Claire there as well. 

Strife21 is good, as is kirikarin. Davesmom's "Beyond Redemption" was very good and Madame Padfoot's "Love, life, and quidditch" was enjoyable. I really like Reiko's "Serpent's Bride" and Ellelegov's "Once Upon a Dream" is good. I must mention Angel-eyes "Bittersweet Reunion" as well.

I don't really know anyone who would like to be my beta reader, so I guess you're stuck with me! (Unless, you're offering of course)

Esther: Thanks for reading my story!

Taya J Weasley, the Author: I really do enjoy reading and replying to everyone's reviews! It must be annoying to some readers, but they don't have to read my replies, right?

Vy: Sorry about me not writing for a long time. You would think that I'd be continuously updating since I finished school, but I'm doing worse! Snape and Andsware will have more interaction, and it's definitely interesting. Sorry the good feeling of R/H kissing didn't last!

Eliza: Now's that's an amazing compliment! This being the 5th book! Wow!

Anne-girl: I find typing 'anne-girl' in the author section doesn't lead me to you (maybe because of the hyphen?), anyway, I'll read your story very soon!

Angel-eyes: thanks for reviewing my story! Very nice and sweet of you!

Lady lupin: I've never read your story, but I'll do so before I post the next chapter. But I promise, I didn't take any of your ideas!!!

Goddessnmb1: I hoped this explained why Fred & George didn't tease them. You saw Viktor here, but you'll see Andsware later on (for sure!)

Bluetreeleaves: oohh, don't flush computer down the toilet. Big no no. lol! I can understand the feeling. My brother was so fed up with this computer (before it was fixed), that one day he was pounding the cpu, until I ran into the room and stopped it. Very frustrating. I'm definitely not stopping the story, but I had trouble starting this chapter. Sorry for the wait!

Madison: thanks again! You guys (the ones who review every chapter) are totally awesome!!! You make this all worthwhile!

Rally-as-Twidde's: I have come back! It took a while, but I'm here once again!

Buckbeakbabie: I tried to keep away from the hollywood-type story, but it does have certain drama scenes ;-) 

Phoenixsong Sorceress: Thanks for reviewing my story! I love it when I come across a story I can read from beginning to end, and I can't believe people think that of my story! Wicked!

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A/N: Okay, replies are done. I'm sorry about the wait, but I really did have a hard time getting focussed for this chapter. I kept deleting paragraphs and plots at a time and was getting very frustrated. Good news is that my muse is settled and somewhat happy now, so it should go smoother. And hey, at least you won't have to wait till next year for the next story (ahem, J.K. Rowling, ahem….I want the 5th book NOW!! lol!)

Au revoir mes amis,

Shalara


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